- August 24, 2026
‘Stop Hiding’: PR Sreejesh Slams State Of Indian Hockey After Early World Cup Exit
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PR Sreejesh criticized Indian hockey teams after FIH World Cup exits, questioning coach Sjoerd Marijne’s leave and the men’s team’s performance.
PR Sreejesh. (AFP)
Former India hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh went on a social media rant after the men’s and women’s teams crashed out of the FIH World Cup in the second rounds, within hours of each other, by Monday.
Writing on X, Sreejesh questioned why the women’s team’s coach Sjoerd Marijne was on a ‘holiday’ — Hockey India approved her leave for some personal reasons — a month before the World Cup. The Olympic bronze medalist then taunted the attitude towards the men’s team, and how they are celebrated for their success over an Asian team when their defeats to actual world-class opponents are called a ‘learning’.
The women’s team handled their own against much stronger opponents, China and Australia, with brilliant defensive displays but lacked incisive attack. The men’s team, on the other hand, looked lackluster, with a porous defense, which was exposed in a 3-5 defeat in a must-win game against Argentina on Monday.
“Don’t worry… the World Cup doesn’t matter,” Sreejesh wrote sarcastically. “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?” he added.
“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? 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 asked.
The 2026 Asian Games begin on September 26.
August 24, 2026, 23:39 IST
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