Too many chapters, but same old story without a happy ending for India

The theme in Indian hockey in 2018 remained the same as in the past - chopping and changing - player to coach - and the consistency remained missing in a World Cup year.

By Karan Prashant Saxena


The finish at sixth place in the World Cup left many question marks surrounding the future of hockey in India. (Source; PTI)

At the start of 2018, veteran midfielder Sardar Singh made a comeback into the Indian hockey team. The former captain was dropped for the Hockey World League finals in Bhubaneswar, in October, 2017, and was also not included in the Asia Cup Squad in December. In his absence, India struck bronze in World League, and then followed it up with a 2-1 win over Malaysia in the Asia Cup final to clinch the gold, under Manpreet Singh’s captaincy.