In an emotional post, former goalkeeper PR Sreejesh slammed Hockey India and asked for accountability after India suffered another flop show at the FIH Hockey World Cups. The Indian men’s and women’s teams crashed out of the tournament before the semi-final stages, meaning that they have both not reached the final four stages for more than 50 years.
The preparations ahead of the World Cups for both teams have been the limelight as the outside noise about the jersey colour change dominated the headlines. This was followed by reports that women’s team coach Sjoerd Marijne actually having a long break and being away from the team before the start of the World Cup.
While the Indian eves put in a spirited performance and missed out on semi-final qualification by a whisker, the same can’t be said about the men’s team.
India were beaten in phase two by the Netherlands and were handed a 3-5 hammering by Argentina, which ended their race. Taking to X, Sreejesh mocked Hockey India for not giving the World Cup enough importance and focusing more on the Asian Games.
He also questioned the officials for allowing Marijne a break just before the World Cup, asking if the team would be able to perform well when the head coach is away on a holiday.
“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.”
“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?” said Sreejesh.
ARE WE BUILDING A TEAM CAPABLE OF BEATING WORLD’S BEST?
When it came to the men’s side, the former junior team coach didn’t pull back from any punches. He questioned the medicrity being instilled in Indian hockey and wondered if they’re actually building a team that can beat the World’s best.
“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?” said Sreejesh.
Sreejesh’s outburst does raise some big questions as India have consistently struggled against the top three teams in recent times. While they have beaten Netherlands and Germany during Pro League matches, in big tournaments, the former World Champions are still lagging behind.
India will now face Belgium for the 7th-8th place match and they haven’t beaten them in a major tournament since the Champions Trophy in 2014.
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