The Indian men’s hockey team had a disappointing run in the recently concluded FIH Pro League, having finished eighth among nine teams with seven successive losses in the European leg.
Dilip Tirkey, president of Hockey India, admitted that it has been a sub-par performance by the team, but added the board is watching the team’s performance and welcomed the team management to share information about players’ form.
“Yes, the team did not perform as expected in the Pro League. If the players are tired and if they are not able to play well [for some reason or other], I’ve asked the team management to let us know. If the senior players are not performing to their own standards, the selectors can take strict action. We have important tournaments like the World Cup (August, 2026) and the Asian Games (September-October 4 2026) coming up,” Tirkey told Sportstar, on the sidelines of the National sub-junior men’s hockey championships here.
On the Asia Cup in Rajgir, Bihar next month, where the winner will seal a spot at the World Cup, Tirkey said: “The Asia Cup is an important tournament. The team is preparing hard for it,” he said.
Tirkey added that the Junior men’s World Cup, to be held in Madurai and Chennai from November 28 to December 10, will be a huge success, with the support of the Tamil Nadu Government.
The decision to include 24 teams in the Junior World Cup, argued Tirkey, is to expand the base of the sport. “The weaker teams will gradually gain interest and get better. FIH (International body for hockey) is doing it to promote the sport. One-sided matches happened even when the World Cup had 16 teams,” he said.
Tirkey recollected his days of competing in the 1997 Junior World Cup in Milton Keynes in England as vice-captain. “We reached the final for the first time in the tournament’s history. It was great. Rajiv Mishra was the top-scorer of the tournament. In fact, Rajiv, Baljit Saini and I were selected to be part of the World XI based on our performance in Milton Keynes,” he said.
