Coach V Bhaskaran blamed India's dismal performance in the men's hockey World Cup in Germany [Images] on lack of time to prepare the team for the high-profile event.

Blaming the media for hyping the team's prospects, Bhaskaran said three months were not enough to prepare the team for the World Cup, where India finished a lowly 11th.

"I only got three months while other teams got four years. And you people (media) raised the hopes," he said, on the team's low-key arrival from Monchengladbach, in Delhi on Tuesday.

However, Bhaskaran insisted that the team played well at the quadrennial tournament.

"I think the boys played well. We made some mistakes, but you need enough time to overcome these," he said.

India cut a sorry figure, losing five of the seven matches they played. Last-minute goals let down India as they lost to Germany (2-3), England [Images] (2-3), Korea (1-2), the Netherlands (1-6) and Argentina (1-2).

The Indians' only victory in the tournament was against South Africa, who they beat 1-0, in the play-off for 11^th and 12^th places and avoided the ignominy of finishing last.

Earlier in the tournament, India had drawn 1-1 in the league stage against the same opposition.

Incidentally, India finished ninth in the 9th World Cup, 10th in the 10th and 11th this year, in the 11th edition of the tournament.

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