India will learn from Pro League low: Fulton

The European leg of the FIH Pro League was expected to provide the Indian men’s hockey team a ticket to the 2026 World Cup. However, it ended as one of their worst campaigns in recent history with seven losses on the trot and an eighth place in the nine-team league, just about escaping the ignominy of relegation.

- Sandip Sikdar

Indian forwards were on the mark, At 20.25%, the penalty corner (PC) battery had a fairly good conversion rate. In four of the seven losses, India took the lead. Against Australia, they were even 2-0 up. Yet they lost seven of their eight games - six by one goal.

“It was disappointing in terms of what our expectations were. But looking back, there were just small moments in every game that didn’t go according to plan. At the same time, we were very competitive and could have easily drawn or won some of those games. So, it was quite frustrating,” India chief coach Craig Fulton said from Eindhoven where he has taken India A on an eight-game tour of Europe.