Hockey News: Indian men’s hockey needs to improve

    Indian men's hockey team forward Sukhjeet was happy about his team's recent FIH Pro Hockey League matches against Spain and New Zealand, but the Blue Tigers have a long way to go

    Indian Hockey Team Indian Hockey Team

    There are a couple of areas where we can improve: Indian men's hockey forward Sukhjeet

    Sukhjeet was brilliant in their recent matches at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. The 25-year-old forward was in the starting lineup of all four games and netted his third goal for the senior men's team when he played against New Zealand.

    India secured a 4-3 win over New Zealand in the campaign opener before losing 2-3 to Spain. The Blue Tigers bested New Zealand 7-4 in the second leg before thrashing Spain through a shootout (3-1 SO) after fishing out a 2-2 draw. 

    About the team's overall performance, Sukhjeet shared, "I think we performed well. We aimed to play as a unit, and we did that well. We played the style of hockey we wish to play."

    "There are a couple of areas we can improve upon, and now, we will work on that," he added. Sukhjeet scored a goal during their second match against New Zealand. 

    <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The path to glory is surrounded by obstacles.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IndiaKaGame?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IndiaKaGame</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HockeyIndia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HockeyIndia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CMO_Odisha?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CMO_Odisha</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/sports_odisha?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sports_odisha</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/IndiaSports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IndiaSports</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Media_SAI?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Media_SAI</a> <a href="https://t.co/Qk4yVdo9Oe">pic.twitter.com/Qk4yVdo9Oe</a></p>&mdash; Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheHockeyIndia/status/1591770353331625989?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

    The forward made his senior international debut in the FIH Men's Hockey Pro League 2021/22 match against Spain and revealed that the past few months have been a learning experience. 

    After making seven senior international appearances, he now wants to be named in the squad for the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023, set to begin on January 13.