The year 2024 is an important year for the Indian men's hockey team considering the Olympics, and no tournament is more important than the Pro League in terms of preparations for the Paris Games.
India, who won a bronze at last Tokyo Games, will face four top teams - Australia, Spain, Netherlands, Ireland - in eight home leg matches this month at Bhubaneswar's Kalinga Stadium and Rourkela's Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium. The tournament features nine top hockey nations and India will play 16 matches in total (twice against a team) in the run up to the Olympics.
Just about a year after a disappointing finish at the Hockey World Cup at home, India will look to start the Olympic year on a positive note
The big picture: how India should approach the Pro League
The team's main objective from the Pro league is to prepare for the Paris Olympics. India head coach Craig Fulton said that he's keen to provide match time to a bunch of players, which includes youngsters as well as senior pros. This was the reason that he opted for a big 24-member squad for the upcoming matches.
"It is the home stretch before the Olympics, and we are looking to get some consistent performances in. There are a few youngsters that are really exciting to watch and have been added to the squad. They will be given opportunities in these eight games so that we can confirm our Olympic squad," Fulton said.
Fulton will hope that the first eight matches will give him a better idea about his squad for Paris Games while the next eight away games can be used to fine tune the strategies and ensure the core group of players play as many minutes as possible.
Like India, other teams will also be using the first phase of the tournament to test out new players and different strategies. A positive result against big teams like Australia, Netherlands and Germany will no doubt boost the team's confidence, but the tournament is all about finding the right combination of players, trying out various on-field strategies and figuring out the formations.
In the grand scheme of things, Pro League results shouldn't matter much for India as long as they are doing the right preparations.
Spotlight
Varun Kumar, India's key player in defence, withdrew from the squad after rape allegations under POCSO act against him. Coach Fulton has termed the recent developments as 'distraction' and 'challenging' but he said the team has a plan in place to move forward.
Going into the tournament, captain Harmanpreet Singh will be keen to hit the form right away with his dragflicking efforts, but India will also hope to find a reliable second option in terms of converting the penalty corners. In the absence of Varun, Jugraj Singh should make the opportunity count. While his draglflicks are powerful, he should look to improve his strike rate.
India's Chief Coach Fulton and Captain Harman bring a mix of intensity and humor to the press conference! ��
Harman is pumped for a strong start and finish on home turf, aiming to build momentum for the Olympics. ��
Chief Coach Fulton and his Hindi skills at the end... Wait for... pic.twitter.com/AH8ULGr9tz
- Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) February 9, 2024
Araijeet Singh Hundal earned his call up to the national side after impressing at the Junior Hockey World Cup, where India finished fourth. Although he featured in the recent matches in South Africa, this will be his first big test against top senior international teams. His finishing is top notch and he will hope to give strong competition to other senior forwards like Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay and Akashdeep Singh.
India's form guide
India are coming into this tournament after their tour to South Africa, where they played three friendly matches against France and the Netherlands and one official match against hosts South Africa.
India won 4-0 and secured a 2-2 draw in their first and second game against France respectively. In the next game, they defeated South Africa 3-0 before losing to the Dutch 1-5.
India's squad
Goalkeepers: PR Sreejesh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak.
Defenders: Jarmanpreet Singh, Sumit, Jugraj Singh, Amit Rohidas, Harmanpreet Singh (C), Sanjay, Vishnukant Singh.
Midfielders: Hardik Singh (VC), Vivek Sagar Prasad, Manpreet Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Shamsher Singh, Rajkumar Pal, Rabichandra Singh Moirangthem.
Forwards: Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Mandeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Abhishek, Akashdeep Singh, Araijeet Singh Hundal.
India's schedule and teams
For the upcoming home leg, India will face defending champions Netherlands, Australia, Spain and Ireland.
February 10: India vs Spain in Bhubaneswar (7.30 pm IST).
February 11: India vs Netherlands in Bhubaneswar (7.30 pm IST).
February 15: India vs Australia in Bhubaneswar (7.30 pm IST).
February 16: India vs Ireland in Bhubaneswar (7.30 pm IST).
February 19: India vs Spain in Rourkela (7.30 pm IST).
February 21: India vs Netherlands in Rourkela (7.30 pm IST).
February 24: India vs Australia in Rourkela (7.30 pm IST).
February 25: India vs Ireland in Rourkela (7.30 pm IST).
India will play the next round of matches against Germany, Argentina, Great Britain and Belgium in May and June.
What they said
India captain Harmanpreet Singh: "We have just come back from a successful tour in South Africa where we played against France, South Africa, and the Netherlands to begin the Pro League in the best shape possible. A few young players have been included in the squad this time and this will be a great opportunity for them to familiarise themselves with the play style of some of the best teams in the world."
Fulton: "We have a good attacking game and we'll look to balance that with our defense. The ambition of this team is extremely impressive. The South Africa tour was indicative of the fact that our team's chemistry is right up there and there's healthy competition within the squad and that is the need of the hour. We want to give the youngsters exposure to help them develop tactically and technically. There is an abundance of talent and that helps with the depth of the squad so that they are well prepared to come in and do well in case of injuries."
The FIH Men's Pro League 2023-24 will be shown LIVE on JioCinema and Sports18-Khel.