The Tokyo 2020 Olympics is less than 150 days away, and India’s Men and Women’s Hockey team have expressed their need for improvements daily without bottling things up as regards their recent results.
The India Men’s Hockey Team kicked off with an impressive start in their first FIH Hockey Pro League tournament as they overcame the Netherlands with a 5-1 and 3-3 [3-1] win after which they played Belgium who is ranked number one on the world rankings with a 2-1 and 2-3 loss results. Their recent loss came against defending champions Australia [3-4 loss and 2-2 (3-1) win after penalties].
The Men’s Hockey team are looking to be in better shape as Vice-captain Harmanpreet Singh revealed that the team’s result against the team ranked in the top three have been impressive so far and no doubt a big morale booster but insist there is a lot of work that needs to be done in the team.
He continued and said; there are still some grey areas we need to work own after our doubleheader fixture against Australia, and we have made decisions that we will go back to the drawing board and make corrections where we camped for four weeks at National Camp in Bengaluru.
On the other hand, The vice-captain for the Indian Women’s Hockey team Savita gave details about the team’s tour to New Zealand recently saying it was a significant avenue for them to learn and unlearn in preparation for their 2020 Tokyo Olympics Games
The team gave a good account of themselves in their five-match tours as they recorded a 4-0, 3-0, and 1-2 loss against New Zealand as they defeated Great Britain 1-0.
Savita, the veteran goalkeeper, said, “we have our mindset on the Tokyo games as the Olympics draws nearer, and we are making sure to work on our lapses and correct our wrongs.”
Written by: Olumide Akinnifesi