Graham Reid has resigned as the Indian men's senior hockey national team coach, a day after the conclusion of the 2023 FIH Men's Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar-Rourkela, where the hosts finished ninth.
Reid came into an Indian team that had sacked Harendra Singh after a disappointing 2018 World Cup, taking over in 2019. He went on to rebuild the side with a penchant for fast, attacking hockey that saw India grab it's first Olympic medal since 1980 - earning bronze in the Tokyo Games.
Results plateaued after that high, and while a silver in the 2022 Commonwealth Games offered a brief spark, India's downhill trend was confirmed with an early exit from the 2023 World Cup, resulting in Reid's resignation.
ESPN goes through the timeline of the Australian's stint as coach:
April 2019
Reid, who was assistant coach for the Netherlands, is appointed the Indian men's team head coach.
June 2019
India play a mini-tournament called the FIH men's series finals against the teams not in the FIH Pro League.
Outcome: India win it, topping their pool with 3 wins in 3 and a GD of +22; then hammer Japan 7-2 and South Africa 5-1 in the semifinal and final.
Verdict: Expected.
August 2019
India play an even mini-er mini-tournament called 'Ready Steady Tokyo' in preparation for the Tokyo Games.
Outcome: Indian win it, but not before finishing second in a four-team group. They then beat group toppers New Zealand 5-0 in the final.
Verdict: Bumpy, but in the end: Expected.
November 2019
India play Russia in the Olympic qualifiers.
Outcome: They beat Russia 4-2 and 7-1 over two legs. Quite comprehensive.
Verdict: Expected.
January 2020 - June 2021
India compete in the FIH Pro League 2020-21 season.
Outcome: A COVID-curtailed season ends early, and on a pro-rata basis India finish fourth. This, does, though, include solid wins over Netherlands, Belgium and Argentina.
Verdict: Impossible to give considering how it ended (or didn't), but India impressed: Decent.
July - August 2021
The postponed Tokyo Olympics.
Outcome: Behind closed-doors, India created history. A bronze medal won through a hard-fought 5-4 win over Germany in the third-placed playoff; an Olympic medal 41 years in the making.
Verdict: Excellent.
October 2021 - June 2022
India compete in their second Pro League season under Reid.
Outcome: India finish third, twelve points behind winners Netherlands. They win eight (and two more in shootouts) and lose four (and two more in shootouts) out of their 16 games.
Verdict: Good; with the big caveat being that Australia didn't play this edition.
November - December 2021
Reid, rather surprisingly, takes charge of the junior team for the junior World Cup
Outcome: India finish fourth; they finish second to France in the pool stages, lose to Germany in the semifinal and then are outclassed (again) by France in the bronze medal playoff. Oh, and captain Vivek Sagar Prasad is the lone player from this batch to make it to the 2023 senior World Cup squad.
Verdict: Decent, considering the amount of time Reid spent with the squad.
December 2021
India, the highest-ranked team in Asia, play the Asian Champions Trophy
Outcome: India finish third; they top the pool with three wins and a draw in four matches (and a GD of +17, next highest is +2) but in the semifinal lose 3-5 to Japan. They then beat Pakistan 4-3 in the third-place playoff.
Verdict: Poor
August 2022
The Commonwealth Games, at Birmingham.
Outcome: India take silver; they top the group on goal difference over England, then beat South Africa narrowly in the semis before an awful hammering at the hands of Australia in the final.
Verdict: This has to be divided into two. 90% of the tournament: good. Final: Quite terrible.
October 2022 - Jul 2023
India start their third pro-league season under Reid.
Outcome: (or is going, rather)... they are currently second, but the skewed schedule of the league means some have played more than others.
Verdict: Too early to tell.
January 2023
The World Cup, the second consecutive one held in Odisha.
Outcome: India finish ninth; after finishing second to England in the group stages (on GD), before losing a crossover to New Zealand.
Verdict: Poor