The Indian men’s hockey team will look to begin their European leg of the FIH Pro League with a win over the Netherlands on Saturday.
Harmanpreet Singh and co. will play their remaining eight matches in the league over the period of 15 days against the likes of the Dutch, Argentina, Australia, and Belgium. After playing the first four matches in Amstelveen, they will travel to Antwerp to finish their campaign.
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At the moment, India are placed well on the table at third, just one behind England and Belgium. Considering head coach Craig Fulton selected an experience squad with all regular senior players set to feature, India can make a serious charge for the title.
In their previous Pro League matches in Bhubaneswar, India men played the likes of England, Germany, Ireland and Spain, winning five out of the eight and losing thrice.
Playing the best of world hockey in away conditions will not be easy for the Indian players and they haven’t played away from home in a long time but there’s plenty of experience in the squad. They shouldn’t take too long to adjust to the conditions and start performing at their best.
As usual, Harmanpreet will lead the squad, and Hardik Singh will be his deputy. The captain had his fitness concerns, having played the Hockey India League and previous Pro League with ankle and wrist injuries but since then had undergone rehab work in Bengaluru. The penalty corner expert is confident that his body will meet the rigorous demands of high-level hockey.
The match will start at 7:30 PM IST.
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