Indian hockey battles through difficult year; women's slide causes concern

New Delhi, Dec 26 (PTI) Fortunes ebbed and flowed as India's hockey revival hit a few road-bumps in 2025, the most worrying aspect being the women's team's slide even though the men managed to turn things around with their first Asia Cup title in almost a decade.

The Asia Cup crown in Rajgir, Bihar was arguably the biggest moment for Indian hockey in 2025 as it not only ended an eight-year title drought but also sealed India's place in the FIH World Cup to be jointly hosted by the Netherlands and Belgium from August 14 to 30 next year.

The triumph in September, their fourth overall, allowed India to reaffirm their continental dominance.

The biggest positive to be drawn was the 15 goals scored and only two conceded in the last three matches of the tournament, marking a massive improvement for the side.

In the summit clash, the Indians dominated defending champions South Korea 4–1 with solid performances from Dilpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, and Amit Rohidas among others.

This was after a truly nightmarish run at the FIH Pro League earlier in the year.

The Paris Olympics bronze-medallists finished eighth out of nine teams and just about managed to avoid relegation from the elite event.

The Harmanpreet Singh-led side did well in the home leg, logging five wins in Bhubaneswar but suffered a run of seven successive losses in the European leg to finish in the penultimate position.

Another encouraging sign for the men was the manner in which a second-string team snared a silver medal at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.

Returning to the event after six years, five-time champions India lost 0-1 to world no.3 Belgium in the final but what stood out was the competitive depth under a new captain in defender Sanjay even as seniors like Harmanpreet Singh and Manpreet Singh took a well-deserved break.

Men's junior team ends year on high ======================= The junior men's team also impressed with a brave-heart performance, nullifying a two-goal deficit to beat Argentina 4-2 and clinch the bronze medal in the World Cup in Chennai this month.

Their first World Cup medal since 2016 at the age group showpiece didn't just ensure a positive end to the year but also held out hope for the future with the Asian Games lined up next year.

A gold in Japan would ensure a ticket to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics where India would be hoping to complete a hat-trick of medals, preferably in better colour than the bronze won in the last two editions.

Women endure downfall ================ In contrast, the women struggled through the year, failing to register any memorable result and continuing a downward spiral that started with their failure to qualify for the Paris Olympics last year.

The team finished last in the Pro League, winning just two matches and losing 11, including the last eight on the trot, to be relegated to the FIH Nations Cup -- a second-tier competition.

Only a title win in this event will earn the side a promotion to the 2026-27 FIH Pro League.

To add to their woes, the Indian women failed to book a direct berth for next year's World Cup as they lost 1-4 to China to finish runners-up in the Asia Cup in September.

Closer to the end of the year, the side was caught in turmoil when its head coach Harendra Singh had to resign following allegations that his coaching style was "outdated and dictatorial". However, the national federation maintained that it had more to do with the lack of results.

The downward spiral did not spare the juniors either as the side ended 10th in the World Cup in Santiago earlier this month.

From the look of things, the national federation and the team management would have to do some soul searching for course correction.

From a side that promised much after a fourth-place finish in the Tokyo Olympics, the Indian women's team has collapsed into a seemingly direction-less outfit.

The junior team too was under the scanner as allegations of sexual misconduct engulfed a member of the coaching staff, who was eventually given a clean chit by the national federation.

In December, veteran hockey women star Vandana Katariya also announced her retirement from international hockey, ending to an illustrious career and adding to the loss of depth in talent that is hurting the side. PTI SSC PM PM PM