India look to carry momentum against Pakistan in London leg of Pro League
A thrilling win against Olympic champions Netherlands, boosting its confidence, the Indian men’s hockey team would look to carry forward the momentum when it takes on arch-rivals Pakistan in the opening match of the London leg of the FIH Pro League here on Tuesday.
It will also be the first time that India and Pakistan will lock horns against each other since the Asian Champions Trophy clash in Hulunbuir, China, in 2024, which India won 2-1, thanks to captain Harmanpreet Singh’s brace.
The head-to-head record between the two sides over the last 10 years is hugely in favour of India, who remain undefeated across 17 matches, with 15 wins and two draws.
The Indians won two matches out of four in Rotterdam. They beat hosts and world no.2 the Netherlands 3-2 on Sunday in the concluding match of the Rotterdam leg. India’s other victory (3-1) came against reigning world champions and world number 5 Germany.
In the other two matches, India lost 2-3 against the Netherlands and 1-2 against Germany, all close results.
The Dutch leg turned out to be a valuable experience for the Indians, who are using this tournament to fine-tune their grey areas ahead of this year’s two big-ticket events — the FIH World Cup and the Asian Games, which is also an Olympic qualifier.
India are currently placed eighth in the nine-team Pro League standings, ahead of their next rival, Pakistan, who are yet to log a point in the tournament.
India will next take on England on Thursday and then face Pakistan again on Friday in their second leg match. With two wins and as many losses, the Indians have produced a much-improved show in the European leg so far as against the home leg of the tournament, where they failed to secure a single win across four matches.
During the home leg, India conceded a massive 19 goals while scoring only five from four matches.
Considering that, India’s chief coach Craig Fulton would be a lot more satisfied with the performances of his wards in the European leg, where they gave higher-ranked opponents a tough contest.
But going into Tuesday’s match, the Indians will have to control their emotions as any Indo-Pak contest is a high-voltage one with plenty of pride at stake, considering the ongoing political tensions between the two nations.
For coach Fulton, all these outings are a platform to test his resources and bench strength to build a well-oiled squad for the World Cup and the Asian Games.
Fulton is visibly satisfied with India’s performance in the Rotterdam leg of the Pro League.
“We had some very promising performances in the Netherlands leg. We worked very hard in the build-up and so it’s good to see the consistency coming through,” he said. But he warned his players to remain vigilant and disciplined against Pakistan. “For us, it’s important that we treat the fixture against Pakistan like any other game and focus on our processes. If we really do that well, then the result takes care of itself.”
But conceding late goals continues to be a problem area for India as, despite leading 3-1 against the Netherlands, they conceded a 59th-minute goal to take the match closer.
