Deficient off-field too

Here are some expert views on the Whys at the World Cup

Rajinder Singh Jr, former coach:

The team tried out a different approach with camps at various venues, but they lacked fitness for that level. The defence was lax, captain Dilip Tirkey looked totally off colour. In the mid-field players were guilty of not keeping possession of the ball and not feeding the forwards well. Finally, the forwards failed to counter-attack and did not look to force any penalty corners.

G S Bhangu, coach Jr women8217;s team

Personally, I think that the Indian team was not organised and the defence was erratic. The loss to Germany in the first match had psychologically affected the team. The players were also not very creative and the mid-field did not look penetrative enough. And I also do not understand why the team management was complaining about body play, because this aspect has been there for a long time.

M K Kaushik, coach women8217;s team

The women too leave for their World Cup in Spain shortly. So, while watching them, I found more off-field deficiencies like mental development. They are talented, but mental toughness, compared to teams like Australia, Germany and Holland is below par. Another aspect was after playing good hockey for about 15-20 minutes, there was a bit of slackness which the opposition took full advantage of. Need to rectify this mid-game casual approach.

Joachim Carvalho, former India captain and IOC coach

Preparation was not right for such a big event. Ok, we did not qualify for the Champions Trophy, but there could have been some Tests organised with other nations instead of playing the Independence Cup where we faced under-18 boys, a developmental side and a local club side. Secondly, I think around four or five players do not want to take names should not have been selected. They are regulars in the team, despite bad performances. Finally, after the first match the planning went hay-wire, with players not knowing their roles.

Romesh Pathania, coach of the under-18 team

All the planning and the training that the team under went before going to Germany was thrown out of gear because of the injury to Sandeep Singh. Though Raghunath played one match, he hardly had any opportunity and he still requires practice to excel at that level.

Clarence Lobo, junior team coach

The loss to Germany affected the team. The confidence level never topped up again. Even if the first match was a draw, I believe we could have had a much better World Cup. The forwards also should have put up a better show.

Mohammad Shahid, former captain

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There were weaknesses in all departments. The players looked stale and lacked killer instinct. The Indian Hockey Federation must view the national team8217;s debacle as a warning signal and take remedial measures.

8212;- Phalguna Jandhyala