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.
