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Bhubaneswar, 06 February 2020: The Indian Men's Hockey Team began their FIH Hockey Pro League campaign on a fantastic note after defeating the Netherlands in both their matches last month. The World No. 5 Indian team will face a bigger challenge when they take on World No. 1 side Belgium in the FIH Hockey Pro League on 8 February 2020 and 9 February 2020 at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. India's Forward Gurjant Singh expressed that the Indian set-up is improving with each match and is working towards a common goal of performing well at the Olympics this year.
"This is a very crucial time for us. Every match is very important for us. We are coordinating and playing well as a unit. However, we have to ensure that we keep putting up good performances consistently. Each and every player in the team has the Olympics in their mind and we are working towards doing well at the tournament," said the 25-year-old.
The Forward added that the Indian Men's Hockey Team is confident ahead of taking on Belgium in the FIH Hockey Pro League since India performed brilliantly during their tour of Belgium last year.
"We had a great tour of Belgium last year, we won all our matches there. That result certainly gives us a lot of confidence. All the FIH Hockey Pro League matches will help us prepare for the Olympics. All the top teams in the world are playing this tournament. Now the Indian team is performing well. We beat the Netherlands last month, who are ranked third in the world. So the team's morale is quite high at the moment," said Gurjant.
India registered an incredible come-from-behind win against the Netherlands in their second FIH Hockey Pro League match in January. The Indians were 1-3 behind and then came back to win the match in the Shootout. Gurjant expressed that such victories give a major boost to the side.
"After such a victory, the team's morale gets a major boost. So one can say that the Indian Men's Hockey Team is a good chaser as well. We can come from behind and win the match and that too against the World No. 3 side. So such victories motivate us as individuals and as a team. It makes the side mentally stronger," said the Forward.
