The 11th place finish at the men's hockey World Cup was not a true reflection of India's potential but the team refused to learn from mistakes which led to the debacle, coach Vasudevan Baskaran said.
"I believe that given our potential, we should have finished in the 5-7 category and certainly not 11th. But then, we wasted too many chances and our penalty corner exercises, both offensive and defensive, were not up to the mark," Baskaran said.
India's mediocre performance at the quadrennial event saw them score just one win in seven matches, losing five and drawing one.
As the World Cup came to a close, Baskaran was at his wit's end to explain the continuing nosedive of the team.
"Some of our special players have not been professional enough to learn from their mistakes and avoid repeating them," he said.
"We have time and again brought the lapses to their notice, but there is little that a coach can do if they keep repeating the mistakes," he lamented.
Though he publicly expressed faith in his team, the fact remained that the coach had run out of patience with the players getting individualistic, be it in the midfield or in the forward line.
{{/usCountry}}Though he publicly expressed faith in his team, the fact remained that the coach had run out of patience with the players getting individualistic, be it in the midfield or in the forward line.
{{/usCountry}}Obviously, old habits had surfaced, thus negating team strategies that were worked out.