Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey is as disappointed as the 15,000 hockey fans, who packed the Birsa Munda Stadium in Rourkela, only to see Team India get hammered 0-8 by Argentina in their FIH Pro League match on Thursday night.
Argentina’s Tomas Domene slotted in four goals (15th, 20th, 26th, 60th) while Tomas Ruiz (14th), Lucio Mendez (22nd), Ignacio Ibarra (25th) and Nicolas della Torre (30th) added one each as Team India suffered their worst defeat since the 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medal match in New Delhi where they went down by a similar scoreline.
“It’s indeed disappointing, but I will put it down to a bad day at the office. Remember this is the same team that won a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics,” former India captain Tirkey told mid-day over the phone from Bhubaneswar on Friday.
Dilip Tirkey
“I felt bad for all the fans, who turned up to cheer for the team, because despite the first day [India lost to Belgium 1-3 on Wednesday in their FIH Pro League season-opener] still over 15,000 came for the Argentina match, but it was unfortunate because the full team did not play well,” added Tirkey, obviously referring to the series of defensive lapses that cost India dearly.
Surprisingly, India’s most consistent scorer over the years, skipper Harmanpreet Singh had two attempts at a penalty stroke [Argentina goalkeeper Tomas Santiago, who saved the first shot, was adjudged to have moved before the stroke was taken, leading to a second attempt awarded to Harmanpreet] early in the match, but missed both. “Had Harmanpreet converted that stroke, India would have gone up 1-0 and the result could have been different,” felt Tirkey, 48.
It’s a crucial year for Indian hockey with the Asian Games and the World Cup scheduled later on, but Tirkey insisted there’s no need to panic. “I’m sure the team will bounce back and ensure the standard of Indian hockey is maintained,” he concluded. India play Belgium again on Saturday followed by Argentina on Sunday.
