Commonwealth Games 2018: Three things that went wrong for the Indian Men's Hockey Team at Gold Coast

#1 Misfiring forwards

Akashdeep Singh's recent performances have not justified his place in the squad

Apart from the veteran SV Sunil and the upcoming Dilpreet Singh, none of the Indian forwards looked at their very best coming into the tournament.

While Gurjant Singh had a rare bad outing on the international stage, the more established names like Mandeep and Akashdeep Singh have been going downhill in terms of form.

Akashdeep, in particular, would feel his place in the squad could be in serious jeopardy. The forward, who was the highest paid Indian in the 2015 Hockey India League auction, has been guilty of missing golden opportunities in the recent past, and Goldcoast was no exception.

Once tipped as the biggest prospect in Indian Hockey, Punjab forward's best return was the Hockey World League Semi-final in London last year where he scored five goals.

With the emergence of Dilpreet Singh and the presence of forwards like Ramandeep Singh, Armaan Qureshi, and Affan Yousuf, it wouldn't be a surprise if the forward is dropped for the Asian Games in Jakarta this year.