Former India goalkeeper and two-time Olympic bronze medallist PR Sreejesh has launched a scathing critique of the country’s hockey management after both the men’s and women’s national teams failed to advance to the semifinals of their respective FIH World Cup campaigns.
The Indian men’s team saw their tournament campaign come to a disappointing end at the Wagener Hockey Stadium in Amstelveen, Netherlands, falling 3-5 to Argentina. India’s progression hopes had already taken a hit following a 1-3 loss to co-hosts Netherlands. Facing a must-win scenario against Argentina, defensive errors and poor conversion rates ultimately doomed their chances.
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Defensive Errors and Wasted Chances
Argentina took control of the match early, opening the scoring just 36 seconds after backline confusion from India allowed Joaquin Toscani to tap in. Nicolas della Torre doubled Argentina’s advantage in the sixth minute via a direct drag-flick from a penalty corner.
India responded in the 10th minute through a goal from Sukhjeet Singh, but they were unable to maintain momentum in the second quarter. Tomas Domene restored Argentina’s two-goal cushion in the 33rd minute before expanding the lead with a penalty stroke in the 45th minute. Lucas Toscani added a fifth goal shortly after. Although Sukhjeet scored his second goal in the 58th minute and Hardik Singh added another a minute later, India’s late push fell short.
A major issue during the game was set-piece execution: India failed to convert any of their seven penalty corners. Despite holding periods of possession, the team struggled to break down Argentina’s defensive unit.
Sreejesh Questions Systemic Accountability
Following the exit, Sreejesh took to social media to voice his frustrations regarding the lack of accountability within the administrative setup:
“Don’t worry… the World Cup doesn’t matter. The Asian Games are coming. Win a medal there, and then we can start dreaming about LA 2028. Apparently, that’s enough to cover everything that went wrong at the World Cup.”
Sreejesh specifically raised concerns regarding coaching management ahead of major tournaments, pointing to the women’s team setup prior to their elimination:
“Women’s chief coach on holiday just before the World Cup — and the girls still fought their hearts out and exceeded expectations. Credit to the players. But where is the accountability? Do we really expect a team to perform at its best when the chief coach is away during the final phase of preparation?”
He also criticized the tendency of management to minimize losses against top-ranked opposition:
“Men’s team loses to a top team → ‘It’s a learning experience.’ Beats an Asian team → ‘Great victory.’ Plays good hockey → ‘Good performance.’ But here’s the uncomfortable question: Are we building a team to PLAY good hockey, or a team capable of WINNING against the best in the world? Stop hiding behind ‘learning’, ‘good hockey’ and future tournaments. The World Cup is not a rehearsal. It is the World Cup… So who is going to ask the difficult questions? Who is going to demand accountability? And most importantly… Does anyone actually care?”
The Indian women’s team was eliminated from semifinal contention after a 0-0 draw against Australia, missing out on goal differential. The men’s team will complete their World Cup campaign in a 7th-place classification match against Belgium.
