Indian Hockey Team Captain Harmanpreet Singh (Twitter)
Indian males’s hockey jumped to fourth place in the newest FIH World Ranking following the crew’s sterling performances on the Birsa Munda International Stadium in Rourkela, the place they gained 4 consecutive video games towards world champions Germany and resolute Australia
Four spectacular successive wins in Hockey Pro League 2022-2023 house video games have helped Indian males’s hockey soar to the fourth place in the newest FIH World Ranking however for captain Harmanpreet Singh it doesn’t matter a lot to his crew as gamers prioritise changing their probabilities and create strain on the opposition crew somewhat than enthusiastic about rankings.
After a hat-trick of wins, the Indian crew remained unbeaten as they put up a resilient efficiency towards Australia in the final house recreation in the FIH Hockey Pro League, registering a 2-2 (4-3 SO) win on Wednesday night time.
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Before this, India beat reigning World Champions Germany 3-2 and 6-3 adopted by a 5-4 win towards Australia, in their final recreation.
India’s excellent feat in Rourkela has put them on high of the pool standing in the FIH Hockey Pro League. The crew now leads the chart with 19 factors from eight matches and are forward of Spain, which have 17 factors from eight video games, adopted by Argentina in the third place with 13 factors from 12 video games. Reigning World Champions Germany have been pushed to no.4 in the pool standing with 11 factors after 8 matches.
The outcome has additionally helped India climb up the FIH World Ranking, having overwhelmed groups ranked greater than them. India was ranked no.6 once they started their marketing campaign at house, whereas Germany was ranked No.1 and Australia ranked No.4, forward of this yr’s Pro League outing. The Indian aspect is now ranked 4th in the world behind reigning World Champions Germany, which have dropped to third in the not too long ago up to date FIH world rating.
“I believe these items (world rating) don’t matter to us a lot. We don’t preserve this in thoughts once we play. Our solely precedence was to transform our probabilities and preserve the strain on the opponent. Some of the children who obtained a possibility to point out their expertise additionally stood as much as the event and did very effectively for themselves in addition to the crew”, said Harmanpreet, who is currently the leading goal-scorer in the FIH Hockey Pro League 2022-2023 with 11 goals, ahead of Belgium’s Alexander Hendrickx with six goals.
The ace frag-flicker also said that the world’s largest-seated Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium is indeed ‘lucky’ for India as the team has never lost a match here.
“We are happy to keep our record intact here in Rourkela. We haven’t lost a single match here in this magnificent stadium. Definitely, the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium is very lucky for us. When you get so much love and encouragement from fans, we want to go out there and win every single game,” stated skipper Harmanpreet, who scored twice in India’s tense shootout victory on Wednesday
Adding to the crew’s choices in the ahead line in a vital yr with Olympic qualification at stake, Selvam Karthi and Sukhjeet’s efficiency has been noteworthy. Karthi is now the fourth-highest goal-scorer in the FIH Hockey Pro League whereas Sukhjeet and Abhishek are seventh and eighth main scorers respectively.
“There are many constructive takeaways for us from this outing right here in Rourkela which is able to maintain us in good stead as we put together for the upcoming Asian Games,” the skipper was quoted as saying in a media launch.
Another big factor that contributed to the team’s success in these matches in Rourkela was the team’s improved on-field communication and decisive video referrals, including the crucial one taken by goalkeeper Sreejesh during the penalty shootout.
“Yes, the referral taken by Sreejesh was absolutely critical to our win. He has years of experience and understands the updated rules of the game but even some of the other video referrals by our team in crucial moments of the match were very important, this is something we work on even in our training. On-field communication was also much better this time, and we will continue to build on this,” Harmanpreet concluded.
The Indian crew will journey to New Delhi from Rourkela on Thursday for the fifth Hockey India Annual Awards, scheduled to be held on March 17, following which the crew will get a two-week break earlier than they reassemble in the National Coaching Camp.
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