In a major development just a day after the 2023 Men's Hockey World Cup, India's chief coach Graham Reid has decided to step down. Reid, who took over as the coach in April 2019, submitted his resignation to the Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey. This comes after India's campaign at the Hockey World Cup 2023 ended in an unwanted way as India finished joint ninth.
"It is now time for me to step aside and hand over the reins to the next management," Reid said, announcing his retirement. "It has been an honour and privilege to work with the team and Hockey India and I have enjoyed every moment of this epic journey. I wish the team all the very best," he added. Also, the team's Analytical coach Greg Clark and scientific advisor Mitchell David Pemberton have stepped down.
The Indian team ended the 2023 Hockey World Cup on joint ninth after failing to win their cross over match against New Zealand. India then played in 9-16 classification and 9-12 classification matches, where Harmanpreet Singh's men emerged victorious. After losing in penalty shootouts to the Blacksticks, India defeated Japan by 8-0, before beating South Africa by 5-2 to take the 9th spot.
Germany defeated Belgium in FIH Hockey World Cup 2023 on Sunday as they won the penalty shootout 5-4. The game was stuck when both teams scored 3 goals each at the end of regulation time. Germany won against the defending champions Belgium after making a brilliant comeback in the final at Bhubaneswar.
This was the third time in the tournament that Germany had won after trailing 0-2 and their mental strength and never-say-die attitude came to the fore again as they denied the Belgians to defend their title. The earlier two matches were against England in the quarterfinals and Australia in the semifinals. "These three weeks of the World Cup have been the most memorable time of my life. It is unbelievable," said player of the final as well as the player of the tournament Niklas Wellen of Germany
