With the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham set to begin on July 28, 2022, the Indian Men’s Hockey Team has been training vigorously at the SAI Centre in Bengaluru. Speaking on the ongoing training sessions, Indian Men’s Hockey Team defender Surender Kumar said that the team’s prime focus is physical fitness ahead of the Commonwealth Games. “Our training sessions are still going on. Our focus has been mainly on fitness, and we have been working a lot on this aspect of the game. We have worked on getting stronger in other areas as well, especially in defence,” Surender said.
India is placed in Pool B along with England, Canada, Wales, and Ghana at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. They will be opening their campaign against Ghana on July 31, 2022. Surender said that the team will not be taking any teams lightly and will go game-by-game. “We are not taking any match lightly. Every team will enter the tournament to win the Gold medal. Our current focus is on the first game against Ghana,” he said.
“We have been closely following their footage that we have received. Our coaches are making plans accordingly and we will hope to follow the same on the match day. There will be no easy teams in the tournament and we will go game-by-game,” Surender added.
India finished third at the FIH Men’s Hockey Pro League 2021/22 and Surender believes the experience of competing against tough teams in the tournament will benefit India in Birmingham. “Our target is to win the Gold medal at the Commonwealth Games. The rest will depend on our performances,” Surender said.
“The matches that we have played since the Tokyo Olympics 2020 have been quite good. We have played against strong teams and it has really benefited us. We executed our plans well and thus we were also able to recognise the areas where we can improve upon. We have focused on those areas at the camp,” he added.
Surender also praised the mix of experience and youth in the squad and revealed the advice the senior players have given to youngsters such as Abhishek and Jugraj Singh. “We have told the players to not feel the pressure of performing at the Commonwealth Games, and to take them as normal games. The coaches and senior players have also been telling them that they have experience of playing against strong teams and hence, they are ready to perform in the competition,” he signed off.
The Indian Men’s Hockey Team will take on Ghana in their first match of the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham on Sunday, July 31, 2022 at 2030 hrs IST. The matches will be telecasted on the Sony Network.