Our immediate goal is to win gold at the Hangzhou Asian Games and qualify for the Paris Olympics,” says Indian men’s national hockey team midfielder Sumit.

New Delhi, 22 April 2023: The Indian men’s hockey team is currently sweating it out at the ongoing national training camp being held at SAI, Bengaluru and ending on May 21 before the team’s trip to Europe where they will face Belgium, Great Britain, Netherlands and Argentina in the remaining FIH Men’s Hockey Pro League season 2022-2023 .

The 39-member core squad for the national training camp includes midfielder Sumit, who was instrumental in the Indian men’s national hockey team winning a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. However, the youngster was out of action for some time after that and was also left out of India’s squad for the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 in Bhubaneswar-Rourkela.

However, the Sonipat-born midfielder did not give up hope of returning to the team for the FIH Men’s Hockey Pro League 2022-2023 series in Rourkela. He put up a good performance in the Rourkela leg of the tournament as India beat the mighty Australians and world champions Germany twice.

Speaking about his return to the team and his performance in Rourkela, Sumit said, “I played as a defensive midfielder in all the games in Rourkela, which helped me to perform better as it gave me a clarity of thought which was missing having previously played in multiple positions.”

“Also, as I was coming back to the team after a long time, I was eager to give my best and make the most of this opportunity.”

Talking about the upcoming FIH Men’s Hockey Pro League 2022-23 matches in Europe, Sumit said they are crucial for the team as they act as a warm-up event before the much-awaited Hero Asian Champions Trophy at home in Chennai in August. and Hangzhou Asian Games 2023 in September this year.

“We are confident of putting in the best performance in the upcoming FIH Hockey Pro League games in Europe as they are crucial in our preparation for important tournaments like the Hero Asian Champions Trophy and the upcoming Asian Games,” Sumit said.

“The FIH Men’s Hockey Pro League 2022/23 in Europe will help us fine-tune our team structure and strengthen the bonds between players. It also helps us assess what aspects of our game need improvement,” he added.

Sumit also revealed the immediate goal of the Indian men’s hockey team, saying, “We want to win the gold medal at the Hangzhou 2023 Asian Games, which will ensure our direct qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics.”