What started as a dream of finishing on the podium at the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup Odisha 2023, will end in a low-level tournament to fight for the 9th position for the hosts India.

On January 22, 2023, a week before the World Cup final was to be played in Bhubaneswar, India withdrew from the 15th edition of the Hockey World Cup in the crossover arena. Graham Reid's men fell to New Zealand's Vantage Black Sticks in a shootout after drawing 3-3 in regulation time.

While the beautiful lights of the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar and the beautiful hockey stadium of the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela will be considered for many years, the fans and observers of the Indian men's hockey team will want to erase something. memories of performance in the grass. After the high point in Tokyo, the World Cup was a blessing. The team has a lot to look forward to, as they continue their history-making streak, but the Harmanpreet Singh-led team will look back on small positives in this time.

The tournament started with a 2-0 win over Spain in the pool, but it overshadowed many of India's problems that would eventually be exposed against New Zealand in the crossovers. Coach Graham Reid pointed to two key areas of the game where the team failed.

"Obviously our penalty conversion in this competition was not good. We also had a lot of turnovers but we couldn't convert those chances," he said in a press conference after last night's game.

When the team was announced, players and sports experts expressed their concern about the Indian team's selection. Trust in Harmanpreet Singh is clear. Defenders Amit Rohidas, Varun Kumar and Jugraj Singh have been attractive, but they haven't had enough opportunities to improve their careers. When Harmanpreet is on the field, you can easily bet that he is the one who manages the short term. What the Indians needed was Jeremy Hayward to step in and their lack of Blake officials, that didn't happen. In Tokyo, the team converted 10 of 31 penalty corner opportunities. In this World Cup, it is four people out of twenty-seven. The legendary Floris Jan Bovelander once said that the competition and the conversion of 1 in 4 is what you should be looking for. He says, 1 in 3 is better. India left the tournament with a conversion rate of 14.81%, something that coach Graham Reid must turn to.

One of India's main concerns throughout the tournament was the disappointment of the FIH player of the year for two years and the captain of the team - Harmanpreet Singh. The footballer, leading the team into the big league for the first time, looks like a shadow of his former self. His only goal in the competition was against Wales' first team who were without a goalkeeper on the pitch at the time. Harmanpreet's frustration was evident when he attempted a 'kick' instead of his signature from India's final penalty corner in last night's match. This time round his competition.

The average Indian hockey fan must be pondering the question of "what's next?" for one. Coach Graham Reid responded by saying, "We will focus on the next two games in the tournament, but at the end of the day you have to keep training. We'll go back to the drawing board, but it's for the kill. When it comes to coaching, workouts and training programs, we do everything the best teams do.

In our opinion we will improve. This is what we are going to look at, finding a mental health coach. It is an important part of our future. Maybe we should try something different.

The wait for the World Cup trophy will continue for a few more years. PR keeper Sreejesh, who brought the crowd alive after scoring two big bucks last night, posted a picture on his social media, captioned - 'End of a dream'. This departure will be a little disappointing, because of the scope of this World Cup, but it is important to return to reality. There will be changes and changes that are important. A better national system, the revival of the Indian Hockey League, a mental coach and towing camps across the country were just some of the suggestions given by fans leaving the stadium after a disappointing defeat. India will now face Japan in the 9th-12th seeded round on January 26 in Rourkela.

Although this is not how the country will like to celebrate the national holiday, it is a game that will affect the level of FIH and participate in the preparation for the Asian Games this year.