The Indian men’s hockey team will be back in action from Wednesday as their away legs of the 2023-24 FIH Pro League season get underway. The Harmanpreet Singh-led India are scheduled to play against Argentina, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain twice each across two legs of the Pro League which will take place in Belgium and England.
India are currently placed third on the points table with 15 points from eight matches and the winner of the Pro League will directly qualify for the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026. It also offers the Indian team the best opportunity to test itself and improve its game ahead of the big goal — a Paris Olympics 2024. India travelled to Australia in April with the same motive but suffered a 0-5 defeat in the five-match Test series.
As the Indian side gets ready for the European sojourn, we caught up with former India captain and midfielder Manpreet Singh to discuss the goal-scoring troubles in Australia, how the team has prepared for the Pro League matches and the pressure of expectations in an Olympics year.
Manpreet, who captained India to a famous bronze medal win at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, also spoke about how his midfield role has changed under current coach Craig Fulton.
Excerpts:
Question: How was the camp at the SAI centre in Bengaluru for the FIH Pro League matches? What were the areas of focus?
Manpreet: It was good. We worked more on strength and fitness. The Pro League will be very important because we are playing against four teams whom we will face in the Olympics as well. So we need to learn to execute the plans that we have worked on in the training camp.
Question: Talking about the Australia tours, specifically, what did the team learn from it and how has it changed the training plans?
Manpreet: We are working on attacking play. The idea is that whenever we get an opportunity in the opposition’s circle we must convert it into a goal or at least a penalty corner. We have some of the best penalty corner experts so it’s important that we make the most use of them. At the same time, we are also doing defensive drills that can help us avoid giving away PCs or goals. Coach Craig Fulton believes in the formula of ‘defend to win’ because if we can defend well then we can win championships.
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Question: Are you planning to take more shots from your sticks?
Manpreet: Yes. As a midfielder, we aim to make as many assists as possible for strikers and create goalscoring opportunities.
Question: It was felt that our strikers were shots-shy in Australia. Was this felt by the team also and how as a team will India deal with it?
Manpreet: Generally how we approach an opponent is to analyse their style of play and then make plans accordingly on how to attack them and from which areas. There’s a special training session for strikers under the guidance of coach Fulton and assistant coach Shivendra Singh so that they can take chances when they come in the circle. The most important thing always in the sport is to practice a thing as much as possible. When we practice enough times we will get better in execution.
Question: Let’s reflect on how your role has changed under Fulton. Under Graham Reid, you were more of a defensive midfielder, but under Fulton, you venture forward a little more and the focus is on initiating those counter-attacks.
Manpreet: Not much has changed. Fulton gives you a lot of freedom so that you can use your skills. His message is that if you feel you can beat a player or defender, go the whole hog. Never be 50-50 in your intent. We all midfielders are doing well. There’s Hardik (Singh) and Vivek Prasad is there in the defensive role. Also, Shamsher (Singh) and Nilkanta (Sharma) are there. We are training together and have built a good co-ordination. My aim is always to get the team rolling — if I can take the ball from midfielders and relay it to strikers to create goals scoring opportunities.
Would the team be looking to balance things out during the Pro League considering the Olympics is not far, it starts on 27 July?
Manpreet: Pro League games are really important because we are playing against teams that we will face in the Olympics. So it’s an opportunity to play against some good teams and improve our game.
Are you guys feeling the pressure of the expectations before Paris 2024?
Manpreet: There is no pressure of the Olympics. We are enjoying the preparation. It’s our dream to play in the Olympics and win a medal for the country so we are giving our 100 per cent in the training.
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