Why is Harmanpreet Singh rested for Hobart leg of FIH Pro League 2025-26?

Harmanpreet has been enduring a lean patch for more than a year.

Indian men’s hockey team skipper Harmanpreet Singh has been rested ahead of the side’s second leg in their Men’s FIH Pro League 2025-26 campaign.

India, bronze medallist at Paris Olympics, have been in horrendous form, losing all four of their matches in the Rourkela leg. The scorelines too were shambolic — 1-3 and 2-4 vs Belgium and 0-8 (joint highest ever margin of defeat for India) and 2-4 vs Argentina.

Craig Fulton’s side don’t have much turnover time, as they would be taking on Spain and Australia in Hobart from February 21st.

Also Read: Why is FIH Pro League 2025-26 crucial for Indian hockey after lacklustre show in 2024-25?

While winning the tournament (which would have secured the team a quota place for the LA 2028 Olympics) looks impractical, they would be looking to gain some rhythm and find their right combination ahead of important assignments such as the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup and the Asian Games.

The side would be without their ‘Sarpanch’ and talismanic drag flicker though. After the first fixture against Argentina, head coach Craig Fulton admitted the dip in returns for Harmanpreet.

“He is not himself at the moment, as we can all see. But at the same time, we will assess it and see where he is at. Also, if you watched the Hockey India League, he had an injury in the last game.”

It is worth noting that the Hockey India had announced on its official social media handles that the defender would be missing the upcoming matches for “personal reasons”.

Also Read: Harmanpreet Singh rested as India name squad for Hobart leg of Men’s FIH Pro League 2025-26

The 30-year-old from Amritsar would be looking to not only use this period to recover from his niggle but also take a break and come back fresh for bigger assignments ahead. He has been a pale shadow of himself for more than a year, largely due to injuries.

The Khel Ratna awardee played just nine out of sixteen matches in a disastrous Pro League 2024-25 campaign for the team, suffering a wrist injury during the first half in Bhubaneshwar and a damaged finger tissue during the second half in Europe. He wasn’t at his best during the last two editions of the Hockey India League too.

Harmanpreet is a lynchpin for the team, not only in terms of his sensational drag-flicking abilities, but also his role of handling the defense and feeding the forward line.

While the two-time Olympic medalist scored just once in the limited penalty corner opportunities he got in the four matches at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium. He was found wanting in the backline too, with the result there for everyone to see.

The management would be hoping for their maestro to be back in form soon, as he would need to fire on all cylinders for the team to have a shot at World Cup glory.

India will take on Spain on February 21st and February 24th, and against hosts Australia on February 22nd and February 25th, at the Tasmania Hockey Centre in Hobart.

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