India is ready to compete against the world champions Germany in the FIH Men’s Hockey Pro League 2022/23

The newly crowned World Champions Germany will be the opposition for the Indian team when they play in the FIH Men’s Hockey Pro League 2022/23 game on Friday at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium.

The Indian team, which was captained by star drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh, was eliminated from the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 prior to the quarterfinal round. The team’s goal in the FIH Hockey Pro League 2022/23 is to perform well and gain back their confidence.

Every game is difficult, but the Indian Team views it as an opportunity to grow as a team and perform better in the future, according to Harmanpreet Singh, one of the tournament’s top three joint scorers with six goals to his name.

“At this point, every game is difficult for us, especially when Australia and Germany are our opponents. However, since the Asian Games are our main priority, it’s good for us that we are getting to play such difficult matches. So, by participating in such games, we will ensure that we develop as a team and do our best moving forward, said Harmanpreet.

Vice-captain Hardik Singh said that while India will adjust its strategy moving forward, its fundamental principles will not change.

“Our strategy will only be slightly altered; however, the team’s core values and guiding principles will not change. Additionally, we will work on maintaining possession in addition to our attacking style of play, Hardik said.

India, who are currently fourth in the standings, hosted Spain and New Zealand in October of last year’s FIH Hockey Pro League 2022/2023 at the Kalinga Stadium. The Indian men’s hockey team had a strong opening weekend, defeating New Zealand 4-3 and 7-4, before falling to Spain 3-2 and drawing 2-2.

The Germany Men’s Hockey team, on the other hand, will be brimming with confidence after recently winning the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023. They are currently ranked fifth in the FIH Men’s Hockey Pro League 2022/23 with eight points from four games.

The German team, captained by Mats Grambusch, will aim to maintain their strong run of form and will be eager to compete at their highest level against the hosts. Grambusch, however, thinks that the team needs to continue improving every day because the World Cup victory is now history.

“All of our games in the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 were very competitive, and we prevailed in shootouts in both of our semifinal and championship games. In the final few seconds of the game, we won the semi-final. In order to prepare for the 2024 Paris Olympics, we must therefore improve what we can and that will be our focus, according to Germany Men’s Hockey Captain Grambusch. These good teams include Australia, India, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

“To be completely honest, we don’t care that we’re the reigning World Champions or the top team in the world. We want to succeed as much as we can,” he continued.

Germany won two games at the FIH Hockey Pro League 2022/2023 in November of last year. They defeated Belgium 3-2 in a hard-fought victory, and they defeated Argentina 3-0. The Germany men’s hockey team lost 0-1 to Belgium in the reverse matches before defeating Argentina in a penalty shootout.

The six matches, which will feature two games each between India, Germany, and Australia, will all take place in Rourkela according to the tournament’s schedule.

Also Read: 11 Indian hockey facts you probably didn’t know (sportsdigest.in)

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