"We have become a team who fight till the end" - Indian hockey forward Lalit Upadhyay

The Indian men's hockey team will be seen in action against the Netherlands in the ongoing 2021/22 FIH Pro League in Rotterdam later this week.

With one win and a loss each against the reigning Olympic champions in a two-legged tie, the Men in Blue are currently placed third with 29 points in the 2021-22 FIH Men's Pro League points table behind the Netherlands and Belgium. The Dutch side are leading the points table with 31 points.

Indian forward Lalit Upadhyay, speaking about the double header, stated that it was a healthy rivalry and had a lot of takeaways from both matches. He said:

"As a team, we were very focused on not letting our tempo drop till the final second of the match because even a slight drop or a small error would be punished by a top team like Belgium. I also believe, as a team, we really enjoy playing against Belgium. Every player looks forward to this rivalry because it brings out the best in us."

The Amit Rohidas-led Indian side showed commendable tenacity, giving the Belgians a tough fight till the dying moments of the match.

Speaking about the never giving up attitude in the team, Lalit further added:

"We have become a team who fight till the end. Against Belgium too, our fighting spirit was a big highlight of the game. Even in the shootouts, we scored all five goals, it was a collective team effort and there were also instances when we could not convert but we didn't let that frustration affect our game and we kept trying till the end."

The Indian men's hockey team pulled off a scintillating 5-4 win against Belgium in a thrilling shootout in their first match of the two-legged tie in the ongoing 2021-22 FIH Hockey Pro League in Antwerp on June 11.

However, suffered a 2-3 defeat in a hard fought battle against Belgium in the second match of their double-header.

FIH Pro League 2022: Indian men's hockey team's upcoming fixtures

Men's team upcoming fixtures:

Match 1: Netherlands vs India

Date: June 18, 2022 Timings: 8:00pm IST

Match 2: Netherlands vs India

Date: June 19, 2022 Timings: 8:00pm IST

Live Streaming details

All FIH Pro League 2022 matches will be telecast live on Star Sports Select 2 and Star Sports Select 2 HD channels. Matches will also be available for live streaming on the Hotstar app.