London, June 7 (IANS) Indian men’s hockey team vice-captain Hardik Singh said the side is focussing on starting aggressively and also working on their best combination in the remaining two matches of the FIH Pro League’s 2023-24 London leg.
India are scheduled to take on Germany on June 8 and against hosts Great Britain on June 9 in a bid to end their campaign on a high.
“We have played some good hockey, but there are still some areas where we need to improve if we want the result to go in our favour. Our objective in these last two matches will be to start aggressively and work on our best combinations. We will go step-by-step, try to play good hockey, and most importantly look to keep the momentum going,” Hardik said in a Hockey India release.
“The entire team knows that the London stage FIH Hockey Pro League 2023/24 matches are very important in our preparations for the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics. Therefore, it is important that we don’t take anything for granted and give our best out there,” he added.
After the Antwerp stage and two matches during the London stage, the Men’s team is placed fourth in the points table. The Indian Men’s Hockey Team has so far amassed 24 points from 14 matches. Meanwhile, their opponents Germany and Great Britain sit in sixth and seventh position respectively, having played seven matches in the FIH Hockey Pro League 2023/24 so far.
In the Antwerp stage, India started with a 2 – 2 (5 – 4 SO) shootout win against Argentina, followed by a 1-4 loss to Belgium, they lost to the same opponent in a shootout 2 – 2 (1 – 3 SO) before defeating Argentina in a thrilling match which ended 5-4 in their favour.
In the London stage, the team has played two matches. They beat Germany 3-0 before going down 1-3 against hosts Great Britain in their second match.
–IANS
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