“We became complacent after beating weaker nations like Hong Kong and Indonesia. We literally smashed them. But when faced with a tougher opponent in Malaysia, our defence faltered. I cannot pick a single senior player who played well against Malaysia. Before facing Malaysia, our defenders were under no pressure except for one quarter against South Korea. “Sreejesh made only one decent save against Japan, other opposition teams didn’t test him. Rupinder played as a free defender, but he ran with the ball when he shouldn’t have or passed the ball under pressure when no Indian player was around” Davis Ian John said to TNN.

“Like other seniors, Sreejesh’s performance will also be monitored in every tournament. That’s why we have started grooming the next two best goalies – Jagdeep Dayal and Vikas Dahiya. Sreejesh wasn’t good in the shootout (against Malaysia). Similarly, it would be difficult for Rupinder and Sunil to make a comeback, though they are still in the mix for the World Cup.” 

“Talking about inconsistency, we finished second behind Australia in the 2016 Champions Trophy, but when we faced Malaysia at the Asiad, we lost against them. The problem is we can’t win two tournaments in a row. Take the example of Australia – if six players have a bad game, other 12 chip in. As for India, if one player has a bad game, all others play poorly. Trust me, the road ahead to qualify for Tokyo is going to be very tough for India,” the official added.