While it narrowly lost its first two games on the Europe leg of the Pro League, the Indian men’s hockey team is not losing any sleep over the results, focusing on fine-tuning its plans ahead of the big test at the Asian games in a few months from now.
“Our main focus is on the defence and maintaining our structure specially without the ball. There are some small changes we have made and trying new things because these games and then the Asian Champions Trophy are our best chance to do so ahead of the Asian Games, which is our main target. Anything before that is a chance to fine-tune and develop a good understanding,” captain Harmanpreet Singh told select media ahead of the upcoming weekend games.
While the level of play between the top European sides and Asian teams is very different — India is the highest-ranked Asian side and the only one part of the Pro League — the team is using the ongoing games to work on its own plans.
“Most Asian teams play half-court with a lot of tight marking and here also there are teams that follow a similar structure – teams like Great Britain and Argentina are very strong in defence and they do not allow opponents to enter the circle easily. The same will happen with Asian teams also so these games will help a lot,” Harmanpreet, who became the all-time top-scorer in the Pro League, explained.
“See, the top teams in the world are from Europe and when we play them, it is part of our preparations for the Asiad only. If we do well against them, then the confidence automatically goes up. We have to be sharp and our execution must be perfect against the Top Four that we are playing here. That’s what we are trying to do right now so that by the time Asiad comes, we will get used to our roles and plans by then. Our basic plans, structure and execution inside the circle will not change,” Hardik Singh added.
Asked about the two games played so far – the first outings under new coach Craig Fulton --- Hardik was honest. “The games were good but we have to finish better inside the circle and get our basics even better. At the same time, we last played in March while players from the other teams were in the EHL in April. That said, the past is done and we are focused on the upcoming games,” he insisted.
India’s weekend games will be against Belgium and Great Britain.
