Indian hockey forward Lalit Upadhyay feels that the Indian team should improve in scoring from field goals

 

Indian Men’s hockey team striker Lalit Upadhyay urges the Men in Blue to improve their overall goal scoring ratio to reach their desired target in the world of Hockey. In India’s recent tour of Argentina where they played four practice matches, Graham Reid coach side scored a total of twelve goals. They won both their FIH Hockey Pro League matches against the reigning Olympics gold medalist by scoring five goals in those two matches. Out of the 17 goals scored by the Indian Hockey team, nine of them have come from penalty corners.

“The matches against Argentina were high-scoring games. It’s never easy to convert field goals against such a strong defence,” explained Lalit Upadhyay. He scored in India’s 3-0 win against the Olympic Champions in the FIH Hockey Pro League tie.

“Over these last few months, we have really worked a lot on converting goals as well as creating PCs. We have also focused on how we must work our way into the circle from the 25m mark”, stated Lalit.

The 27-year-old forward also highlighted the fact that the Indian Men’s Hockey team is rigid in their goal to achieve the Olympics podium for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. He believes that the team is determined on their target and are unfazed by everything that is happening around due to the current pandemic.

He further went on emphasising the fitness of the players and mentioned that it is important to avoid injuries as they work on scenarios in their practice sessions.

“Our focus will be on maintaining our fitness level and avoiding any injuries. We will be creating match scenarios in our practice sessions where we will work on different tactics,” he added.

Lalit also credited that having a centralised facility like the SAI Centre in Bengaluru has been a huge advantage for them in these unprecedented times. “We are truly lucky to be in a facility like SAI Centre, Bengaluru where our training goes on undisturbed, and we have the best facilities”, said the striker.

“We also have an exclusive gym now for hockey which has been very helpful. Hockey India too monitors our progress and follows up on any requirement and this kind of support during these difficult times has been a big bonus in our preparations,” Lalit concluded.