FIH Pro League: Indian hockey team eyes consistency, targets finishing first

Indian men's hockey team captain Amit Rohidas and coach Graham Reid believe the upcoming FIH Pro League matches against Belgium and the Netherlands will determine where Indian hockey stands.

Riding on 3-0 and 3-1 wins, India bagged all six points from their last home leg double-header against Germany to consolidate their lead at the top of the FIH Pro League points table.

With 27 points from 12 matches, India now have a 10-point lead over second-placed Germany.

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With the next set of FIH Pro League matches scheduled against Belgium and the Netherlands, Amit Rohidas said it is important for the team to continue its momentum.

"We still have four matches to go against very strong teams like Belgium and the Netherlands," Rohidas was quoted as saying by Hockey India. "We have to carry this momentum throughout the season and play with the same intensity to finish on top."

India are scheduled to face Belgium on June 11 & 12 and the Netherlands on June 18 & 19.

Meanwhile, the chief coach didn't want to read too much into India's lead on the points table and pointed out that India have played more matches than other teams.

"The number of points we have is because of the number of games we've played, so yeah, we are on top at the moment, but we have four games left against Belgium and the Netherlands, and they are the ones that will determine where we stand," Reid explained. "The guys get a break now, I get a bit of a break for two weeks and then get back into it really hard."

Reid hopes India will improve their finishing in upcoming FIH Pro League games

Although the Indian team has been winning consistently in the ongoing FIH Pro League, the margin of wins could have been higher had Amit Rohidas' men fared better in the final third.

The coach and the captain have been critical of India's finishing in the last few games and said the team would be working on that aspect.

"The second game was tough against Germany," Amit said. "They played really well. I feel we lacked a bit in finishing. I think this is an area we need to improve upon when we play next. But overall both the wins were really good for the team."

Reid also said there was a lot to learn for the Indian team from their matches against Germany in the FIH Pro League home leg.

"I am very proud of the way our players played in both the matches," he said. "I told the boys that from these two games, we will gain a lot from a learning perspective. We set ourselves a target of getting six points, and it's always good to get six points from back-to-back matches.

"But we were looking at the last two matches against Germany as if we were playing a semi-final and a gold medal game," he further explained. "We tried to put some value to the game because one of the things that we miss in the FIH Pro League sometimes is an opportunity to play a quarter-finals or a semi-finals or a final."