Hockey: India lose 0-5 in Australia, but is it all doom and gloom? Five takeaways for Harmanpreet Singh and Co

It’s been a strange Test series for the Indian men’s hockey team in Australia. Any long-time hockey follower will tell you that a 0-5 defeat against the Kookaburras doesn’t necessarily come as a surprise, is perhaps even predictable, given India’s history. In the 48 matches played since 2013, Australia have won 33. In 7 matches in 2024, Australia have won 6.

In the five games played over the last week in Perth, however, India were completely outplayed only in the first match. In the next four, they had leads to protect in each of them. They scored first in the last three.

On Saturday, Harmanpreet Singh once again put a heavily-rotated Indian team ahead in the first quarter. But three goals thereafter saw Australia turn it around. A late Boby Singh Dhami goal on his senior debut made the last few minutes competitive, as India had a chance to walk away with at least a draw. But it wasn’t to be.

The next time these two teams will meet is August 2 at the Paris Olympics. Here’s a look at five things we learned about the Indian men’s hockey team in the context of their route to Paris:

Attacking woes

At various points during the series, the Aussie commentators wondered if India get enough out of their forwards. It’s not a new issue and not lost on Craig Fulton either. Before Match 4, Fulton said: “Our biggest focus is on the final third, we haven’t really shown anything offensively. We get there, kind of, disconnected. There is a big emphasis on improving our counterattacks, keeping the ball longer in the opposition half, and doing something with it.”

India’s field goal percentage for 2024 has dipped to 40 percent now. Fulton rotated his attacking players through the five matches and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that none of the frontrunners could be described as undroppable for Paris. Only two field goals were scored, a consolatory effort in Match 1 by Gurjant Singh and an impressive debut goal by Dhami in Match 5. The penultimate match did see a significant improvement in general attacking outcomes, but not decisive enough.

While scoring goals has always been a concern, Fulton also pointed out that the forwards haven’t even earned enough penalty corners, India’s best bet for getting on the scoresheet these days. Abhishek was the only forward to feature in all five matches, and while he impressed in patches, his goalscoring form has dipped too. Among seniors like Lalit Upadhyay, Mandeep Singh and Akashdeep Singh, there is much of a muchness.

Could newcomers force their way in?

This close to Paris, perhaps Fulton is not going to change his mind too much about the final make-up of his squad. But in the minutes that they got, Mohammed Raheel, Araijeet Singh Hundal and Boby Singh Dhami showed sparks of brilliance. Could the key to unlocking defences lie in adding a surprise weapon to the mix? The regulars in the frontline didn’t exactly bring the house down. It remains to be seen if Fulton is willing to take a punt.

The next time India meet Australia will be on August 2 at the Paris Olympics. (Hockey India)

Drag-flicks remain solid

Harmanpreet Singh continued to remind the world why he is a modern-day drag-flicking great. The only question surrounding him for Paris will be if he is able to handle the pressure, but otherwise, he continues to be India’s primary scoring option. Hearteningly, Jugraj Singh stepped up as a viable second choice too. India didn’t create enough PC opportunities for themselves but when they did, Jugraj showed he has one of the speediest flicks going around if he can marry that with accuracy.

Indian players in action against Australia (Hockey India)

Mixed bag defensively

It’s tough to assess India’s defensive performance. In 2022’s tour of Adelaide, while India managed to win one match, they shipped 25 goals in the series. In Tokyo, Birmingham and once in that Adelaide series, India conceded 7 in a match, and let in as many as six recently in Rourkela. But in Perth, only in Match 1 did India seem defensively out of sorts, and Fulton admitted they weren’t at the races that day. The South African coach has a mantra of ‘defend to win’, emphasises on structure and control, and India were much better in the remaining four matches.

However, lapses in concentration for brief periods continue to hamper them. While deep defending was largely impressive, India were regularly guilty of shooting themselves in the foot. Midfielders losing possession in transition didn’t help matters either.

Sreejesh stands tall

India gave game time to all three goalkeepers in Perth. If there were still lingering questions on who the No.1 option is, 35-year-old PR Sreejesh put them firmly to rest. On Instagram, Sreejesh posted a collage of three photos from Perth. From 2004, when he made his junior team debut, to now in 2024 when he continues to set the standards. Age hasn’t slowed him down, and in Match 3, Sreejesh pulled off save after save to finish with the Player-of-the-Match award.

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Krishan Pathak has been his understudy for a few years now, and while he impressed in patches, a few mistakes have crept into his game in recent months. Suraj Karkera, who has been off the radar for a while, made his senior team comeback in Perth and played a part in the last two matches, producing one of the saves of the series in Match 4, putting out his left hand for a reflex block. But among the trio, Sreejesh emerged with his credit further enhanced. Still the numero uno.

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