Pro League ties vital for our growth: Manpreet  

Express News Service

BENGALURU: The last couple of weeks has been a tough period for sporting activities throughout India with the new Covid variant creating havoc. The likes of Indian Super League, Pro Kabaddi League, AFC Cup among others have witnessed positive cases. Despite all these competitions being played under strict protocols, the virus has breached the bio bubble, which is a growing concern.

Even some of the hockey players at the SAI National Centre of Excellence, Bengaluru were tested positive last week though they were asymptomatic. It means that the players might not have an ideal preparation for the upcoming Pro League matches against South Africa and France in Potchefstroom from February 8-13. The Manpreet Singh-led squad along with the coaching staff will fly out from Bangalore for the Rainbow Nation on February 4.

“We have spent a lot of time to make sure that the bio bubble is created pretty much from the moment we leave from here in the bus,” said head coach Graham Reid during a virtual interaction on Friday. “With something like Omicron, that is also changing the field so we are learning a lot of things. The good example is how quickly we can get these athletes back into full training, which is something that has been paramount in our preparations.”

It is such uncertain times that coaches have to come up with plan B/C/D too in their preparations. In fact, such plans are going to be of utmost importance for India, who are staring at an important year ahead, including the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games among others as they may try different combinations too.

After an impressive bronze medal finish in the Olympics, they are expected to deliver in such big ticket events too.  However, India could only finish third despite being favourites in the Asian Champions Trophy recently. The real preparation begins now with India naming a strong and experienced squad for FIH Pro League, with drag flicker Jugraj Singh and striker Abhishek being the new faces. Though both their upcoming opponents may not be ranked inside the top ten, it will help them understand their areas of improvement.

“We want to win these matches (against SA and France) and increase our confidence. It will help us understand where we stand and look at areas, which we need to improve upon as well because this is an important year for us. There is Asia Cup, Asian Games, CWG and many others. We need to maintain our fitness and read other teams and also improve our game further. We cannot treat any competition easy this year,” said Manpreet, who has to lead the team from the front with many of the senior players from the Tokyo Olympics, including Rupinder Pal Singh, Birendra Lakra announcing their retirement.