A rejuvenated Indian men’s hockey team will look to carry on its fine form from the home leg and maintain its supremacy at the top of the standings when it begins the Europe sojourn of the FIH Pro League against Olympic champions Belgium here on Friday.
During the European leg of the tournament, India will also take on the Netherlands and Argentina in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. India overcame a disappointing World Cup campaign earlier this year to climb to the top of the 2022–23 Pro League table with an unbeaten record against world champions Germany and mighty Australia. The Indians secured three outright wins from the Rourkela leg while also winning a shootout bonus point in the fourth match against the Kookaburras. India is currently leading the table with 19 points from five outright victories in eight matches and two from shootouts. The Harmanpreet Singh-led side will look to carry on with their winning momentum when it takes on Belgium on Friday and Great Britain on Saturday in the Lee Valley Stadium here.
Hosts Great Britain will be riding on their recent success in Christchurch, New Zealand, where they won 5-2 and 6-1 against New Zealand and also beat Australia 2-1 and 3-3 (4-2 SO) to gather 19 points from eight games, with four outright wins and three from shootouts.
Belgium, on the other hand, will look to climb up the charts from their current seventh position. They have so far played just four matches in this edition of the Pro League and have won one each against Argentina and Germany.
The Pro League matches in Europe will also be the first real test for India’s new chief coach, Craig Fulton, and it remains to be seen how he fits into the high-pressure job after taking over from Australian Graham Reid, who guided the side to a historic bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
