India Aims for Comeback After Six Consecutive Defeats

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Published on: June 20, 2025, 08:24 PM IST
          
          
India Drops to Eighth in FIH Pro League After Recent Losses
          

            

              

                
"There’s a realistic chance to qualify for the World Cup if we stick to the plan in the Pro League," India vice-captain Hardik Singh had said just before departing for Europe for the second half of the FIH Pro League late last month.
                

                  
                  
                

              
              
The two-time Olympic bronze medalists were quite confident. The Indian men's hockey team was third after the home leg of the nine-nation tournament, having secured five wins in eight games. They had defeated reigning world champions Germany and resilient England, needing a decent run to qualify for the 2026 FIH World Cup.
              
With Olympic champions Netherlands and Belgium already qualifying as hosts and Australia securing a spot as the last edition’s Pro League champions, the Harmanpreet Singh-led team needed a fourth-place finish for World Cup qualification.
              
However, things went awry in Europe. Despite strong positioning for World Cup qualification, six consecutive losses have left the Craig Fulton-coached team barely avoiding a last-place finish, which would have relegated them to the lower-tier FIH Nations Cup. With two matches remaining against Belgium, India is now placed eighth while Ireland sits ninth in the Pro League standings.
              
Though India scored goals and fought hard, a recurring issue was conceding goals in the final quarter, a long-standing vulnerability. Old habits have resurfaced despite previous improvement. India’s forwards and penalty corner (PC) battery have excelled, yet defense remains an Achilles' heel, frustratingly so for Chief Coach Fulton, whose strategy emphasizes "defend to win." This is despite experienced players like skipper Harmanpreet, Amit Rohidas, and Sumit as fullbacks.
              
Securing a World Cup berth would relieve the team from the stress of qualifying through the Asia Cup in Rajgir, Bihar, in August-September. Pro League qualification was a strong opportunity, which would have allowed the management to test various combinations and new players in the continental event.
              
Despite being the strongest Asian side, India can't assume an easy path at the Asia Cup. Failure there would lead to a nerve-wracking World Cup qualifier in February-March. The Indian women’s team famously missed the Paris Olympics last year in a similar scenario.
              
Although Ireland locked the ninth position, India avoided relegation, focusing on reversing fortunes against former world and Olympic champions Belgium in Antwerp on Saturday and Sunday.
              
"Results haven’t aligned with our expectations, and although we played well, the outcomes weren’t in our favor," Hardik remarked on Friday. "We'll reflect on this, but our immediate focus is the remaining matches. Belgium and India have a healthy rivalry, bringing out the best in each other. Our goal is to close strong with tighter defense and score opportunities."
            
          
        
      
    
  

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