A bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 had raised hopes of an upswing in Indian men’s hockey. But the promises are yet to materialise as the Indian team once again made an early exit from the World Cup in spite of having the advantage of playing at home.

The Harmanpreet Singh-led side led twice against New Zealand in Sunday’s crossover game of the ongoing Cup at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar — 2-0 and then 3-1. But they allowed New Zealand to draw level before losing 4-5 in the shootout.

In other words, India squandered a golden opportunity to be among the last eight teams, wasting chances galore.

India hockey head coach Graham Reid in Bhubaneswar. PTI photo

So what ails India? What needs to change?

“Mental strength is one key aspect,” the legendary Zafar Iqbal told The Telegraph on Monday. “When you concede after leading twice, it’s also an indication that maybe psychologically you’re lagging behind. That’s one area that has to be addressed.

“Besides that, there’s a need for more aggression too as I found the captain, in particular, to be too quiet on the field. He needs to be much more proactive,” the former skipper pointed out.

Proficiency in penalty corners is another requisite, feels former India goalkeeper Bharat Chetri. In the regulation time against New Zealand, India got 11 penalty corners but converted only two of them.

“Scoring a field goal nowadays is not that easy while penalty corners, if executed well, help a team on most occasions. Of the three goals New Zealand scored before the shootout, two of them came through penalty corners, which proves how effective they turn out to be,” Chetri, also a former captain, said.

“To make sure we don’t miss out on them, we need at least three good drag-flickers in the team. The current side consists of hardly two of them. Proper drag-flickers make a difference.”

According to midfielder Harjeet Singh, the team erred in not utilising the experienced players during the shootout. “This, too, is another element which has to be kept in mind.

“During shootouts, it’s always advisable to send your most experienced players to take the strike. Also, it’s the duty of the seniors in the side to keep motivating and encouraging the juniors,” Harjeet, under whose captaincy India won gold in the 2016 Junior World Cup, emphasised.

Both Chetri and Harjeet believe that in terms of fitness and skills, there’s not much to worry about. “At present, instead of cribbing, the team should set small targets and take one competition at a time,” Harjeet said.

“Focus on the grassroots by setting up more academies across the country with quality coaches,” Chetri advised.