NEW DELHI, June 27: After their impressive outing in Europe where the Indian men’s hockey team lived up to the billing against Belgium and the Netherlands in thrilling FIH Hockey Pro League double-headers, the team is back to the grind at the National Camp which began at SAI Centre in Bengaluru.
Hockey India named 31 players for the national camp which began on Monday and will conclude on July 23 ahead of the team’s departure for Commonwealth Games Birmingham, England.
India which will be led by Manpreet Singh is scheduled to begin their campaign on 31st July against Ghana. Grouped in pool B, India will also take on hosts England, Canada and Wales in the round robin league matches.
Talking about the camp, chief coach Graham Reid said: “The players got a brief six-day break to go spend time with their families after the FIH Pro League matches in Europe. I believe this break has helped players return feeling fresh both mentally and physically.
“The next three weeks, we are going to focus on improving our performance. In FIH Pro League we had the opportunity to play against the best teams in the world.”
“Commonwealth Games is a mega event with world ranking points at stake so definitely we will be vying for a good show in Birmingham,” Reid added. (UNI)
