The Indian hockey staff skipper Manpreet Singh considers the current success in opposition to reigning Olympic champion Argentina a giant confidence-booster, however insists that the staff nonetheless wants to deal with some grey areas because it pursues a podium end in Tokyo.
“No doubt winning against a really strong team like Argentina in their home ground is a big confidence-booster, but we shouldn’t read too much into the results. We need to keep our heads down and remain focused on the areas that require improvement on the basis of our performance here. Our task is not over until we stand on the podium in Tokyo,” Manpreet stated in an announcement issued by Hockey India. “It was great to resume the FIH Hockey Pro League with five points from Argentina and we would like to keep this momentum going into the matches in Europe. These matches will surely be a litmus test for us before Tokyo,” he said enthusiastically.
Meanwhile, the 23-year-old goalkeeper Krishan Pathak, who was one of many architects of India’s very good presence in opposition to Argentina, mentioned he needs to be in high kind for the Tokyo Olympics and is eyeing one other superlative efficiency in opposition to Great Britain within the FIH Pro League video games a subsequent month.
“I am very happy to have completed 50 international caps. So much has happened in such a short space of time. I have had the opportunity to play in big tournaments and learnt a lot from my seniors,” Pathak mentioned during the interview. “I got to learn a lot from the Argentina tour. I know I have to prove my worth as a goalkeeper every time I am playing. I feel we showed a lot of fight and character there. Over the past year, we’ve had good games against the top sides in the world and I feel that gives us the right kind of boost going into a tournament like the Olympics.” mentioned Pathak.
India is scheduled to play Great Britain within the FIH Pro League on May 8 and 9 in London adopted by a doubleheader in opposition to Spain in Valencia on May 15 and 16. After that, the Indians will play Germany in Hamburg on May 22 and 23.