Soham Mukherjee
India’s men’s hockey team head into the European leg of the FIH Pro League carrying serious questions about their form and fitness ahead of the upcoming World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Craig Fulton’s side had already played eight Pro League matches in India and Australia earlier this year against Belgium, Argentina, Spain and Australia.
The results made for grim reading: five defeats, three draws and no wins, leaving India second from the bottom of the standings, only above Pakistan. They conceded 25 goals in those eight games, the second-worst total in the competition, and allowed a staggering 66 penalty corner chances while creating just 21 at the other end.
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Of those 25 goals conceded, 11 came directly from penalty corners. For context, the Netherlands converted 10 from 34 penalty corner opportunities, and England scored seven from 23. India managed just four from their 21 chances.
Captain Harmanpreet Singh acknowledged the problems before the team departed for Europe and said the squad had focused heavily on both penalty corner defence and attack during the training period in between.
“We have worked extensively on penalty corner defense and attack. Hopefully, the mistakes we made last time won’t be repeated,” he told ESPN.
“We want to learn from those experiences and improve. And of course, before the World Cup, we have several important matches against strong teams.”
MORE: Explained: Why India hockey coach wanted to resign over Manpreet Singh's exclusion
The FIH Pro League 2026 matches are available for live TV broadcast across Star Sports Network channels in India. Fans can also watch the live stream on the JioHotstar app and website.
Goalkeepers: Mohith Honnenahalli Shashikumar, Suraj Karkera
Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh (captain), Amit Rohidas, Sumit, Sanjay, Yashdeep Siwach, Amandeep Lakra, Jarmanpreet Singh, Jugraj Singh
Midfielders: Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh, Rajinder Singh, Raj Kumar Pal, Nilakanta Sharma, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Rabichandra Singh Moirangthem
Forwards: Mandeep Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Abhishek, Aditya Arjun Lalage, Dilpreet Singh, Shilanand Lakra, Selvam Karthi
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Soham Mukherjee is a content producer and writer, with a focus on cricket, football, tennis and Indian sports. His work has appeared in Goal.com previously, where he has covered the Premier League, La Liga, Champions League, FIFA World Cups and Indian football. Armed with an MA (Master’s) in Sports Journalism from Symbiosis International University, he knew early on that his future wouldn’t be on the pitch but behind the pen, shaping narratives about the games he adores.
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