Young Indian hockey talent Harmanpreet Singh said he learned a lot playing alongside the senior players in the recently concluded six nations’ tournament in Spain.
On the back of arriving from the tournament here on Tuesday morning, Harmanpreet Singh said: “This was a great opportunity for me to play with the senior members and to learn so much from them. Playing on the 16 member Olympic format was challenging but also helped us gauge what we learnt at the training. Ensuring we are permanently, physically prepared for all scenarios, and that we are in peak shape as a unit when head to Rio.”
The Indian hockey team arrived back in the country on Tuesday after a strong showing at the 6 Nations Invitational tournament in Valencia and a Silver medal from the Champions Trophy in london. The team has recently risen to Number 5 in the official FIH World Rankings.
India’s show at the Six-Nations Invitational Hockey Tournament ended with a 1-1 draw against Spain in Valencia placing them on 5th spot in the tournament. The team played in Olympic format with a 16 member-squad at the 6 Nations tournament.
Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh said, “As proud as we are at our achievement, we are also very grateful and overwhelmed by the reactions from the support we have received from home. After a long tour, now we are focussed on the Rio Games and ensuring a strong showing there so that we can make our supporters proud. We will have a few days break to rejuvenate ourselves before we resume the camp at SAI Bengaluru and get ready for Rio.”
Chief Coach Roelant Oltmans added, “Our aim was always to win a medal at the Champions Trophy. We have achieved that. It is on the backburner now though. We have to look ahead and focus on the Olympics. The team deserves a much-needed break after all the hard work, and then, very soon, it will be back to the grind as we sharpen up for the all-important Olympic Games.”