India's men's hockey team arrived in Hobart hoping the change of scenery from a disastrous home leg in Rourkela would spark a turnaround. Instead, the Olympic bronze medalists found themselves mired deeper in crisis after a 0-2 defeat to Spain on February 21 and a shootout loss to Australia on February 22 at the Tasmania Hockey Centre.

Spain struck early when Ignacio Abajo capitalized on a defensive lapse in just the sixth minute, firing past the Indian goalkeeper to give the Red Sticks the lead. India, who had entered the match on the back of four consecutive defeats at home, struggled to generate meaningful attacking momentum throughout the first half. The second half offered little improvement, and Ignacio Cobos doubled Spain's advantage in the 36th minute with a composed finish that effectively sealed the match. For Craig Fulton's men, it was a fifth straight defeat in regulation time this FIH Pro League season.

The following day against Australia brought a glimmer of hope, albeit one that ultimately flickered out. India's Amit Rohidas broke the deadlock in the first quarter, converting a penalty corner with a powerful slap hit to the bottom right corner after Raj Kumar Pal won the set piece by playing the ball into Australian captain Jeremy Hayward's foot. When Jugraj Singh added a second from another penalty corner in the third quarter, it appeared India might finally register their first victory of the campaign.

But Australia's Joel Rintala had other plans. The dragflick specialist struck twice in the fourth quarter to haul the Kookaburras level at 2-2, sending the match to a shootout. After nine consecutive conversions in the one-on-one shootout, Australian goalkeeper Jed Snowden denied Aditya Lalage to hand the hosts a 5-4 victory on bonus points. India earned their first point of the season, but the manner of the collapse from a 2-0 lead will have stung.

The Hobart results only compound the misery of the Rourkela home leg, where India suffered four straight defeats to Belgium and Argentina. The numbers make for grim reading: an 8-0 thrashing by Argentina was the nadir, part of a stretch in which India conceded 19 goals and scored just five across four home matches. Captain Harmanpreet Singh, still recovering from an injury sustained during the Hockey India League, was visibly below his best throughout, with Fulton himself acknowledging that his talisman was not being himself.

Fulton's decisions have come under increasing scrutiny. Critics point to his reluctance to rotate the squad, particularly his insistence on fielding an under-fit Harmanpreet rather than giving opportunities to in-form players like Amandeep Lakra, who scored nine penalty corner goals during the Hockey India League. The South African coach has taken responsibility for the record losing run, but questions about tactical approach and player management continue to mount.

Despite the dire form, calls for Fulton's removal remain premature in the eyes of many analysts. The coach guided India to an Olympic bronze medal in Paris and an Asian Games gold, and the World Cup in Belgium and the Netherlands this August remains the priority. The upcoming matches in the Hobart leg, including a second encounter against Spain scheduled for February 24, offer India chances to salvage some confidence before attention turns to the critical FIH Hockey World Cup preparations.

For a team that entered the Pro League season with genuine aspirations of competing at the top, the reality of seven matches without a regulation-time victory is a sobering wake-up call. The road to the 2026 World Cup suddenly looks far more uncertain than anyone in Indian hockey would have imagined.