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Starting off the year with a third-place finish in the Women’s Asia Cup and culminating in the FIH Nations Cup, 2022 has been a good year for Indian Hockey. The Indian women's hockey team made the maximum headlines, winning a historic Commonwealth Games medal followed by qualifying for the next edition of the FIH Pro League.
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Both the Indian men's hockey team and the women's contingent also finished third in their respective FIH Pro League campaigns of the 2021-22 season. Amidst all the highs, there were also a few lows, such as the women's team finishing 9th at the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup 2022 and the men's team losing a five-match Test series against Australia by a 4-1 margin.
As this year comes to an end, we take a look at all these highs and lows of Indian Hockey in 2022.
Also Read: https://www.sportskeeda.com/hockey/analyzing-team-india-good-enough-win-2023-hockey-world-cup
#1 High: January (Bronze at the Women’s Asia Cup)
The Indian women's hockey team made a grand start to their year by defeating Malaysia 9-0 in their opening encounter of the Women’s Asia Cup 2022 in Muscat. They then lost to Japan 2-0, who eventually went on to become champions. Playing minnows Singapore in their last pool match, they won 9-1 to advance to the semifinals.
However, they lost to Korea by a slight margin of 3-2 in the semis and had to play China in their third-place match, where they won 2-0 in a lop-sided contest to bring home the bronze. India’s only specialist drag-flicker, Gurjit Kaur, starred for the women in blue with four goals in her kitty.
#2 High: April (Junior women’s hockey team fall short of the bronze medal but put up a spirited performance)
It was heartbreaking for the young girls in South Africa as they lost to England in the bronze medal match. The team played brilliantly for the entire 60 minutes, drawing level 2-2 but failed in the shootouts (3-0) to lose the match.
The girls won all their matches comfortably in that tournament until they faced world champions Netherlands in the semi-finals. It was the eves’ first tournament of the year and they displayed some brilliant teamwork, coming home with heads held high.
#1 Low: May (Indian men's hockey team finish third in the Asia Cup)
In the Men’s Hero Asia Cup held in Indonesia, the Indian team endured a very bad outing as they finished third in the tournament. Although they came back with bronze, nothing short of gold was expected from the Men in Blue. Being the highest-ranked team in the tournament, India drew with Pakistan in their opening match which showed the team was either over-confident or under-prepared.
They drew both their Super4s match and hence had to play for the bronze. Had they won their last Super4s match against Korea, where they drew 4-4, the team would have played in the finals.
#3 High: June (Bronze for both men and women in the FIH Pro League)
While the men performed according to their expectations, the women exceeded what was expected from them. Indian women finished third ahead of world-class teams like Belgium, Germany, England, and Spain. Again, it was Gurjit Kaur who showed her class, scoring a total of five goals in the tournament.
#4 High: June (Men became champions in FIH Hockey 5s)
In a two-day tournament held in Switzerland, the Indian men defeated Poland in the finals 6-4 to become the champions. One of India’s star forwards Mohammad Raheel top-scored with 10 goals in the tournament and also won the Player of the Tournament award.
Similarly, in the women’s event, India finished fourth as they lost to Uruguay and Poland in their opening matches. Mumtaz Khan was India’s highest goal scorer with five goals.
It was a first-of-its-kind tournament organized by FIH where five teams competed in both men's and women's competitions.
#5 High: June (India finished runners-up in the Uniphar U23 Five Nations Tournament)
India U-23 Women’s Team didn’t lose a single match in the entire tournament until they fell short by three goals in the finals against the Netherlands. It was a good experience for the Junior Indian Women’s Team as they hadn’t played in any tournament for a long time and got to play with some of the best teams in the world in this tournament.
#2 Low: July (Indian women finish 9th at the World Cup)
India was placed in a tough group that consisted of England, New Zealand, and China. India drew two matches and lost one, courtesy of which they had to play crossovers against Spain and lost. India won against Japan in the 9-12th place classification match and finished joint ninth along with China.
#6 High: July-Aug (Indian teams shine at the Commonwealth Games)
Indian women under Janneke Schopman were fully prepared to take on the heavyweights of world hockey. After winning the 2002 CWG and being crowned the runners-up in the 2006 CWG, the women’s team was medalless for the last 16 years.
It had to be this year, 2022, under Savita Punia's captaincy, that India defeated New Zealand in the shootouts to win the bronze.
Indian men were expected to win a medal, and they deservingly went ahead till the finals but lost to Australia 7-0 in the gold-medal match.
#7 High: September (Indian hockey gets a new president)
Along with the games, there was also a change in leadership for Indian hockey, as former Indian captain Dilip Tirkey was elected unopposed as the President of Hockey India. It was the first time in Indian hockey that a former player who represented India at three Olympics and is the highest-capped player to date, became the president of the National Federation.
Soon after his appointment as HI President, Dilip Tirkey vowed to make the return of the now-defunct Hockey India League. He has made strides to improve hockey in the country and has also assured to take Indian Hockey to new heights.
#8 High: October (India brings home six out of eight FIH Awards 2021-22)
Much like last year, Indian hockey stars made headlines as they won the maximum FIH Hockey awards. Current Indian men's captain Harmanpreet Singh won the FIH Player of the Year Award while rising star Mumtaz Khan was named the FIH Rising Star of the Year.
Indian hockey guardians and goalkeepers Savita and PR Sreejesh won the FIH Goalkeeper of the Year Awards in the women's and men's divisions respectively for their excellent performances this calendar year.
Coaches of the Indian men's and women's teams, Graham Reid and Janneke Schopman respectively, also got their hands on the big awards as they were named the FIH Coaches of the Year.
#9 High: October (10th Sultan of the Johor Cup win)
The junior Indian boys played some excellent hockey as they defeated favourites Australia in the finals to become the champions.
#3 Low: December (India tour of Australia, Test Matches - Men)
The Kookaburras proved to be extremely strong as they beat India 4-1 in a five-match series. India was unable to match the speed of Australian forward Tom Craig as he broke the Indian defence with ease.
#10 High: December (Women qualify for FIH Pro League 2023-24)
It was one of India’s best performances in recent times as they were not only crowned the champions of the FIH Hockey Nations Cup but also qualified for the next edition of the FIH Pro League, defeating Spain 1-0 in the finals. The women in blue stayed unbeaten for the entire tournament.
It was a happy ending for Team India after all!
What’s next for Indian Hockey in 2023?
Indian men will start with the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup, which will be held in Odisha's Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, starting on the 13th of January 2023. The team will look to start their 2023 with a medal at the event after 47 years.
It is also an important year for both teams with the Asian Games lined up in October. Let’s see where Team India’s luck takes it in the upcoming calendar year!
