Gold medal this time on target of Indian hockey team in Commonwealth Games
India has challenged till the finals only twice so far in 2010 and 2014 and had to be content with silver medal after losing to Australia on both the occasions. Apart from this, the team has been fourth twice. It is clear from this that India’s campaign has not been very bright.
Now our team has the ability to conquer any team in the world. This time he has also shown this by performing brilliantly in the FIH Pro League. Staying third in this shows the strength of India.
By winning at least one victory over Spain, Argentina, England, Germany and Belgium in this league, India has shown that it is now a Big League team and can defy any team when it has its day.
If the Indian team had won against France in this league or had won some more matches, then it would have topped the league or would have been in second place.
Indian vice-captain Harmanpreet Singh said that we have played good hockey in FIH Pro League and we will try our best to win gold medal in Commonwealth Games this time. We have worked hard to improve the finishing and defense in the Bangalore camp. Our team is moving in the right direction.
India’s expertise in taking penalty corners over the years has also played a role in shaping Harmanpreet’s thinking. We all know that earlier converting penalty corners into goals used to be our main weakness. But now we have world class drag flickers. In the last FIH Pro League, Harmanpreet has made India’s power felt by scoring the highest 16 goals.
There is no doubt that in the last few years our team has worked very hard on fitness and now we keep fitness like other teams. As a result of this, our team now fights fiercely till the last minute. In the last few years, India has reversed results on many last-minute matches. Earlier, our team used to lose control of the game after falling behind once but now it is not so.
Recently, when the Indian team went to Antwerp to play Olympic champion Belgium in the Pro League, it was already 1-3 in the first match and only eight minutes were left for the game to end. But the Indian team struggled without giving up and not only got equal with Harmanpreet’s 52nd minute and Germanpreet’s 57th minute but also won the match in the tiebreaker.
