The Indian men's team finished their home commitments in this season of the FIH Pro League with 15 points from 8 games. These games began in earnest Craig Fulton's preparation for the Paris Olympics later this year -- and on the face of it, it's a good start for India.
They currently sit in third in the Pro League standings, behind only the Netherlands and Australia, and have had different facets of their game tested.
After four games in Bhubaneswar saw them win two, lose one, and win another in a shootout, India didn't lose any of the four games in Rourkela in regulation time. They beat Spain in a shootout, then lost to the Netherlands and Australia in shootouts, and then ended up with a 4-0 win over Ireland in a game where the scoreline rather flattered them.
Here's a look at the lessons India would've learned from the Rourkela leg of the Pro League this season.
India are a hard team to beat, but can they string wins together?
India have lost one game in eight so far in the Pro League this season. Even in that one, they came back from 2-0 down to make it 4-2, before losing 6-4.
In Rourkela, India drew against Spain, Netherlands, and Australia. They'd be disappointed with the result against Spain, but against both the Netherlands and Australia, they showed their powers of recovery after conceding the first goal in both those games.
The Indian defence, particularly after the emergence of Sanjay now, looks like a strong suit for Fulton to use, especially with his defend to win mantra. Sumit has been a consistent rock at the back, while Amit Rohidas and Jugraj Singh have complemented Harmanpreet Singh well at the heart of the Indian defence. The experience of Manpreet Singh, across the defensive line, and back in his old midfield role, helped considerably too.
However, just being hard to beat is unlikely to fetch India the medal they so crave in Paris. It is just a start, the next step in the evolution of Fulton's team has to be in terms of being more consistent in front of goal - be it through field goals or penalty corners. For example, even in the game against Ireland that they won 4-0, India spent large parts of the game in their own half, and couldn't create penalty corner opportunities when field goals were hard to come by. Eventually, they were efficient enough against an Irish side that lacked quality.
Hardik Singh continues to be the centre of all India's good
In January 2023, India's World Cup campaign derailed after Hardik Singh's injury ruled him out of the competition. If there's one area where Fulton needs to still put some work into his side, it is into how they play without Hardik.
With Hardik, they have a passer, a sublime picker of aerials, a ball carrier, a superb penalty corner injector, and someone who is positionally excellent when in defensive midfield. It is difficult to be an all-in-one midfielder like Hardik is. Fulton has tried various players in midfield, including some surprising picks like Gurjant Singh and even Harmanpreet.
But, the truth is that India are an inferior side both offensively and defensively without Hardik. With eight Pro League games and potentially a few other competitive matches left to play before Paris, perhaps a rest in a few of them for Hardik might not be the worst idea in the world.
PR Sreejesh still sets the standards in goal
India's no.1 in Tokyo, one of the biggest reasons for that bronze medal, continues to be as important as he was three years ago. Sreejesh might be 35 years old now, but his reflexes haven't slowed down, he continues to read the game as well as he ever has, and is still incredibly agile.
India's no.1 in Tokyo, one of the biggest reasons for that bronze medal, continues to be as important as he was three years ago. Sreejesh might be 35 years old now, but his reflexes haven't slowed down, he continues to read the game as well as he ever has, and is still incredibly agile.
He continues to be an incredible shootout goalkeeper as well, in addition to everything he brings to the field in regulation time hockey. Last year, after the World Cup, Sreejesh had rubbished suggestions that he might be moving away from the sport. Now, with the Olympics on the horizon, he is still as good as he ever was.
The time for experimentation is over
The time for Fulton to have the luxury of trying a number of players may now be over. The coach himself had admitted that these eight games were about trying as many players as possible in as many different positions as possible, so that he can finalise his core group of players for the Olympics.
One would think that now it's time for that core group to play as many matches as possible in the positions where they will primarily be used in at the Olympics.
So, is Manpreet Singh a midfielder or a defender? Is Gurjant a midfielder or a forward? Has Lalit Upadhyay's superb start to 2024 made him undroppable from the Olympics squad? These are all questions that Fulton really needs to have answers to. Versatility is great, but heading into an event as big as the Olympics, there's nothing better than having a core group which knows exactly what each player's position is.