Indian Hockey Legend PR Sreejesh lashed out at stakeholders of Indian hockey in a strongly worded statement after the country’s disastrous performance in the ongoing 2026 Hockey World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium. Both the men’s and women’s teams failed to end a five-decade wait to play the semifinals of the event after crashing out in the second round.
Sreejesh, who was part of the Indian team that won two Olympic medals, asked for accountability and questioned whether anyone cares about the performance. He pointed out that Sjoerd Marine was not with the women’s team in the build-up to the tournament and claimed that only good performances against Asian teams are not enough. The ex-Indian goalkeeper further questioned whether the motive is even to build a team that is capable of winning.
“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. 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? Do we really expect a team to perform at its best when the chief coach is away during the final phase of preparation?
“Men’s team loses to a top team → “It’s a learning experience. Beats an Asian team → “Great victory.” Plays good hockey → “Good performance.” But here’s the uncomfortable question: Are we building a team to PLAY good hockey, or a team capable of WINNING against the best in the world?,” wrote Sreejesh on X.
“Stop hiding behind “learning”, “good hockey” and future tournaments. The World Cup is not a rehearsal. It is the World Cup. So who is going to ask the difficult questions? Who is going to demand accountability? And most importantly…. Does anyone actually care,” he added
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.
Women’s chief coach on holiday just before the World…
— sreejesh p r (@16Sreejesh) August 24, 2026
The Indian men’s team, which won the bronze medal in both the Paris and Tokyo Olympics, finished fourth in the second stage and lost to all three teams. After a 4-2 defeat to England, they lost to the host Netherlands 2-0 before a 5-3 loss against Argentina today. This meant they would play defending champions Belgium in the 7th/8th place playoff.
Meanwhile, the women’s team crashed out narrowly on the basis of goals scored to Australia after finishing third in their group. They only lost to Netherlands in the tournament. The Women in Saffron will play Germany in the 5th-6th playoff.