India will look to maintain dominance in Pro League under new coach Fulton

London. An upbeat Indian men’s hockey team will look to carry forward the form of the home leg of the FIH Pro League as they take on Olympians Belgium in the European leg here on Friday. India will also take on hosts Netherlands and Argentina in Eindhoven during the European leg of the tournament. India are looking to top the Pro League table for 2022-23 after recovering from a disappointing World Cup performance earlier this year. The team remained unbeaten during this period against the strong teams of world champions Germany and Australia. India registered three straight wins in the Rourkela stage while also winning the shoot-out in the fourth match against Australia to collect a bonus point. India are currently on top of the points table with 19 points from eight matches with five straight wins and two shoot-out wins.

The Harmanpreet Singh-led side will look to continue their winning streak when they take on Belgium here on Friday and Great Britain on Saturday. The host Great Britain team is also running in good form. The team won 5–2 and 6–1 against New Zealand in Christchurch, and also beat Australia 2–1 and 3–3 (winning 4–2 in the shoot-out). Great Britain also have 19 points from eight matches with four straight wins and three wins in shoot-outs. On the other hand, the Belgian team will try to reach a better position than the current seventh position. The team has played only four Pro League matches in the current season and has registered one win each against Argentina and Germany. The Pro League tie in Europe will be the team’s first real test under new India coach Craig Fulton and how he handles the high-pressure job.

Fulton replaces Australia’s Graham Reid, under whose guidance India won a historic bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. India last met Great Britain in the quarter-finals of the Tokyo Olympics in which the team won 3-1. Since the Rio Olympics 2016, India has played 19 matches against Belgium, out of which the team has won eight and lost nine. Two matches have been drawn. India last played Belgium in Antwerp last year when in the last season of the Pro League, the Indian team won the second match in a shoot-out after losing the first match 2-3. Harmanpreet said that they can’t wait to take on Belgium. He said, “India as a team has started a healthy competition with Belgium, especially in the last five to six years. We enjoy playing against this opponent and the team is always upbeat about doing well against them.

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