Doha: The Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) today put up a brave front in the face of widespread criticism over the team's disastrous show at the Asian Games here, with secretary K Jothikumaran maintaining that it was 'not the end of the road' for the sport in the country.

"This is not the end of the road. Like sometimes in football, top teams do not qualify for the World Cup but that doesn't mean it is all over for the team," Jothikumaran told sources.

India failed to reach the semifinals  for the first time in the Games' history  after suffering a 2-3 shock defeat to China and drawing 1-1 with South Korea in a must-win clash yesterday.

Reaching the final would have given India an automatic berth for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Instead, the team would now have to win one of the three qualifying events to gain entry into the quadrennial event.

The performance drew stringent comments from various quarters, including from the International Hockey Federation (FIH) President Els van Breda Vriesman who said Indian hockey faced an uncertain future as the Olympics qualifying process was not going to be an easy task.