Men’s hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh said – the team needs to create more opportunities to score goals

New Delhi. Men’s hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh on Saturday admitted that India will have to create more opportunities to score from the circle with a focus on conceding fewer goals from the ‘touchline’ to meet the upcoming challenges including the Asian Games. India got mixed results on the European tour of FIH Pro League. The team got four successes out of eight matches here. Against Belgium, India won 5-1 after losing 1-2.

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Against Great Britain too, the team lost the first match 2-4 while in the second they won the shoot-out 4-2 after the match ended in a 4-4 draw. The team won 3–0 and 2–1 against Argentina, while they lost 1–4 and 2–3 against the Netherlands. Harmanpreet said, “We came to know about many things from the matches in Europe. We conceded goals from the touchline and need to rectify that. We also have to work on converting the chances we create in the ‘D’.

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“Playing against top European teams is always a great learning experience,” he said in a release issued here. Now we will focus on doing our best against the top Asian teams in the Asian Champions Trophy and Asian Games. India ended their campaign in the Pro League with 30 points from 16 matches. He is currently on top of the table. There is still a lot left to do against other teams. This was the team’s first tour under new head coach Craig Fulton. Harmanpreet said, “Craig is clear about his views and expectations and his arrival has brought a positive atmosphere in the team.” He said about the European tour, “In these matches (in Europe), we have taken our game in a disciplined manner. Much attention was paid to moulding, with an emphasis on defending the goal by strengthening the defence.