New Delhi: The Indian men’s hockey team concluded their FIH Pro League 2022–23 campaign with a fourth-place finish, amassing a total of 30 points from 16 matches. This marks India’s second consecutive fourth-place finish in the prestigious tournament, following their debut season in 2020–21, where they achieved the same position. In the previous season, the Indian team had secured a third-place finish.
The journey of the Craig Fulton-coached Indian side in the FIH Pro League was a tale of two halves. During the first leg of the season, played on home soil, India displayed an impressive performance, winning five matches, drawing two, and suffering only one defeat. Their sole loss came in a closely contested match against Spain, ending with a 3-2 scoreline in favour of the Spanish team in Bhubaneswar.
Notable victories during this phase included a double triumph over the reigning world champions, Germany, with scores of 3-2 and 6-3. The Indian team also registered an exhilarating 5-4 win against Commonwealth Games champions Australia, followed by a 2-2 draw. In the ensuing shootout, India emerged triumphant with a 4-3 scoreline.
However, the away leg of the FIH Pro League, held in Europe, proved to be less fruitful for India. Despite leading the points table heading into the European fixtures played in London and Eindhoven, the Indian team experienced a downturn, securing only three wins, suffering four defeats, and managing one draw from the eight away games.
India’s wins on foreign soil came against Argentina (twice) and Belgium. However, they faced defeat in both matches against the eventual champions, the Netherlands. In the final match of their campaign, India claimed a 2-0 victory over Argentina, placing them at the top of the points table with 30 points from 16 outings. Nevertheless, other teams won their remaining games, surpassing India in the standings.
The Netherlands successfully defended their crown by securing 35 points from 16 matches, outperforming challengers Great Britain, who finished with 32 points. Belgium, with 30 points, clinched a higher position in the table than India due to a greater number of victories (10 compared to India’s eight). Meanwhile, New Zealand, with a mere three points, finished at the bottom of the table and were relegated to the FIH Men’s Nations Cup for the upcoming season.
Impressively, the Indian team displayed proficiency in shootouts throughout the FIH Pro League 2022–23, winning all three they encountered. Notably, they triumphed with a scoreline of 3-1 against Spain, 4-3 against Australia, and 4-2 against Great Britain.
Indian captain Harmanpreet Singh emerged as the top scorer of the tournament, recording 18 goals in the FIH Pro League 2022–23. The penalty corner specialist had also topped the goal-scoring charts in the previous season, amassing the same number of strikes.
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