Mumbai, August 24, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Former India hockey captain and goalkeeper PR Sreejesh has questioned the team’s performance and called for greater accountability after India crashed out of the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup without reaching the semifinals.
India suffered their second consecutive defeat in Stage 2 on Monday, going down 3-5 to Argentina in Amstelveen. The loss came after a 1-3 defeat to the Netherlands, leaving India without a medal from another edition of the World Cup.
In a strongly worded post on X, Sreejesh criticised what he described as a tendency to shift focus to future tournaments rather than address shortcomings exposed at the World Cup.
“Don’t worry… the World Cup doesn’t matter. The Asian Games are coming. Win a medal there, and then we can start dreaming about LA 2028. Apparently, that’s enough to cover everything that went wrong at the World Cup,” he wrote.
Sreejesh also compared the men’s campaign with the performance of the Indian women’s team and questioned the absence of its chief coach, Sjoerd Marijne, during the final phase of preparations.
“Women’s chief coach on holiday just before the World Cup — and the girls still fought their hearts out and exceeded expectations. Credit to the players. But where is the accountability?” he said.
He also took aim at the recurring explanations offered after defeats, writing that losses to top teams are described as “learning experiences”, while victories over Asian opponents are hailed as major successes.
Sreejesh questioned whether India were building a team merely capable of playing attractive hockey or one capable of defeating the world’s best.
“Stop hiding behind ‘learning’, ‘good hockey’ and future tournaments. The World Cup is not a rehearsal. It is the World Cup,” he wrote.
He concluded by asking who would raise difficult questions and demand accountability after the disappointing campaign.
“Who is going to ask the difficult questions? Who is going to demand accountability? And most importantly…Does anyone actually care?” he asked.
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