Hardik Singh-less India endure difficult start to 2024 Paris Olympics buildup with 5-1 loss against Australia

It wasn’t the best of starts for the India men’s hockey team in their buildup to the 2024 Paris Olympics. A 5-1 defeat to Australia on Saturday was not the ideal way to start their preparations for the showpiece event in France later this year. It was a brace from Tom Wickham that set Australia the platform for victory, and Gurjant Singh’s strike in the second half came a bit too late, at a time when India were behind 0-4.

And while one would hope there’s still scope for improvement, the focus for Craig Fulton and his men will be on working on a few crucial aspects. So whom did India miss in the first game against Australia? And what can they improve on? We take a look:

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No Hardik Singh

Midfielder Hardik Singh, who had won the FIH Player of the Year just a few days back, was absent from the game against Australia on Saturday. Not only were Australia the more clinical outfit, but also India were lacking that clarity and creativity in midfield. India were also lacking as far as their finishing touch was concerned.

The presence of Hardik in that midfield position could have made the difference for India. Hardik being in the middle would have allowed the visitors to operate freely and confidently and provide that elusive finishing touch. It wasn’t just the finishing touch nor the inability to play freely in the middle that India lacked. India lacked possession of the ball, something that is crucial during a hockey game be it any situation.

Every time the visitors looked to attack, the ball would then get dispossessed by the Aussies who then would clear the ball out of danger.

There’s Vivek Sagar Prasad as well. He was India’s next best hope after Hardik’s absence. Much like Hardik, Vivek is a versatile midfielder who can rip through the opposition defence. On Saturday, there was an instance when Vivek came close to scoring, only for the momentum that he helped build to go down begging with the Aussies displaying their defensive solidity.

There was another occasion when India missed an opportunity to score. In the third quarter, Sukhjeet Singh and Shamsher teamed up to make it a one-two for India in forward, but it was eventually Shamsher who cost India a chance after he endured a mistrap.

Penalty corners

Another area where India missed a trick were penalty corners. India have previously struggled in converting penalty corners into goals and on multiple occasions on Saturday, that hurt their chances big time once again.

India were 0-1 down as early as five minutes into the first quarter, and as soon as India were behind, the visitors won a penalty corner. Mandeep Singh did well to find the space inside the D and that gave a good chance for India to score. Amit Rohidas then took the flick but the ball ended up wide of target.

Australia, too, had the opportunity to double their lead in the first quarter through PC’s but PR Sreejesh showcased his reflexes pretty well to deny them the chances. Yet, there was no respite for India as they switched Sreejesh with Krishan Pathak. Ever since Pathk came into action, Australia created even more chances of scoring and were very successful in converting most of them. Simply put, the Kookaboora’s were just impeccable with handling the ball and finding the net, and the Indian defence had no answers.

Once again, in the fourth quarter, India had another PC opportunity. This time, Harmanpreet Singh took it and it was hit high on the right side of goal, only for Australia goalkeeper Andrew Charter to deny the India skipper.

In the second quarter, too, India won a corner. Abhishek took the flick in the third minute of the second quarter, but that chance just went begging for India after that resulted in a mistrap for Abhishek.

Overall, India lacked confidence to perform as a unit and that is what Harmanpreet and Co will have to work on in the upcoming games.

“India only arrived here on Tuesday, so I’m sure they’re still finding their feet,” Australia skipper Aran Zawelski said after his team’s win.

One would only hope better things are to come from this India men’s hockey team but for now, it’s time for them to go back to the drawing board and rectify their errors and come back stronger in the second game on Sunday.