India rounded off their tour of Canada with a 3-2 victory in their final game to win the seven-match hockey test series 6-0 on Saturday night. One match was drawn.

It may be premature to read too much into India’s performance on the tour but there is no denying that the last time India won a series abroad without losing a single game was way back in 2004, just before the Athens Olympics. That was when Indian hockey was supposed to be on a revival and that national team is often considered the best in recent times.

In a bilateral series overseas, even those who have been tracking Indian hockey for long fail to remember a series win without having lost even one game after the one against a South African team just returning to international sports in 1993.

“There is a long way to go yet for this team, we cannot think we have achieved a lot. But after the Europe tour, which was more of a learning curve, this is the first time that the team is showing consistency. The real test will come during the Champions Challenge in December,” says Jagbir Singh, Hockey India’s director of planning.

More than not losing a game, it was the way India managed to avoid conceding goals in dying moments — except in the drawn third game — and keep up the attacks till the end that was positive. Also, coach Jose Brasa’s attempts at rotating the captaincy, trying players at different positions and giving every player a chance, meant the Indian bench appeared stronger than before.

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