- Saturday, April 20, 2024
The Indian players, who were hosted by the country’s high commission in London and met members of the Indian diaspora, defeated Olympic champions Spain 5-1 in the previous match.
By: Shubham Ghosh
India’s men’s hockey team on Saturday (3) beat hosts Great Britain 4-2 in a shootout in the FIH Pro League 2022-23 tie at Lee Valley Hockey Centre in London. The win was their second successive in the tournament’s UK phase following the 5-1 drubbing of current Olympic champions Spain on Friday (2).
The scores read 4-4 at the end of the regulation time before the Asian side clinched the game in the shootout. For the visitors, captain Harmanpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh, Sukhjeet Singh and Abhishek scored while for Britain, Sam Ward alone netted four times.
India goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak made two saves in the shootout to help his side bag a bonus point. The win saw India regain their top position in the points table after two losses against the same two opponents last week saw them slip. India are now at the second position in the points table with 24 points in 12 outings, two less than Britain who have 26 in equal number of matches.
The Indian players wore a black armband in the match against Britain to show solidarity with the victims of the deadly train crash in the Indian state of Odisha on Friday in which more than 270 people were killed. The government of Odisha, which is led by a chief minister who played hockey in his school days, has been a staunch supporter of Indian hockey over the past few years. Apart from being one of the main sponsors of the Indian hockey team, Odisha has also hosted two consecutive hockey world cups — in 2018 and 2023.
The Indian hockey team will now travel to Eindhoven in the Netherlands to play against the hosts, who are the No.1 team in the world, and former Olympic champions Argentina. These will be the Asian powerhouse’s last matches in the FIH Pro League 2022-23, which will conclude next month.
The Indian hockey players received a warm welcome in the UK after they arrived in the country for the FIH Pro League. Captain Harmanpreet was joined by his teammates and coach Craig Fulton at a special reception hosted by the Indian high commission at India House, Aldwych, London. There, he said the team was fully geared up for the matches in the UK and the back-to-back victories showed that the players were determined to deliver.
At the event where members of the Indian diaspora were also present, Harmanpreet, 27, said, “It’s great to be here in London after a gap of some years, we were last here in 2017. The Pro League matches are going well and we are fully geared up for the matches on June 2 and 3 and call on everyone to come out and support the team.”
@HCI_London along with members of Indian diaspora welcomed National Men's Hockey Team to historic India House and extended best wishes for upcoming matches!! #ChakDeIndia @TheHockeyIndia @VDoraiswami @16Sreejesh @manpreetpawar07 @13harmanpreet @MEAIndia pic.twitter.com/Pk4vjYn8Rx
— India in the UK (@HCI_London) May 29, 2023
“It is a matter of great pride to welcome the Indian men’s hockey team. It is difficult not to have a lump in the throat when you see the boys in blue take on the world in this game that is our national sport,” said Vikram Doraiswami, Indian high commissioner to the UK.
The High Commission of India, London, hosted the India Men's Hockey team at the India House, Aldwych, London . Here are the glimpses from the event.#HockeyIndia #IndiaKaGame pic.twitter.com/f08NzHOIIx
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) May 30, 2023
“The hockey team is truly a team that represents all parts of India. Of course, historically Punjab has been a little extra represented as a premier hockey playing state, but it’s great to see that other parts of India are also playing hockey now with as much josh and zeal,” he said.
During an informal interaction co-ordinated by the Indian deputy high commissioner to the UK, Sujit Ghosh, some of the players shared their experiences of playing for India, the great bonding and banter shared by the teammates and also the coping mechanisms to keep morale high through wins and losses.
“We either win or learn, that’s the attitude with which we all play every game. We will never lose, we will only ever learn,” said the captain, when asked about tough non-scoring patches in his career.
“We are a mix up of different cultures and the common factor is we are all Indians, the second is hockey and the best part is our shared foodie habits,” said Sreejesh, who also shared insights into the many changes he has witnessed in the game over the years.
“The beautiful thing about this team is that they have the talent… they have always had the craft and backing of the country.
“At the same time, they play a different kind of style, which is also engraved in the nature of being in India and Indian, and it works. It’s their style, that’s the special thing. Unique relationships (within the team) bring unique results,” added the team’s coach.
