Indian Men's Hockey Team striker Lalit Upadhyay feels the team
still has scope to work on their goal conversion rate. In their recent tour to
Argentina, the team scored a total of 12 goals in four practice matches and
total five goals from the double header FIH Hockey Pro League matches against
the Olympic Champions. Out of the total 17 goals from six matches, nine goals
came via penalty corners.
"The matches against Argentina were high-scoring games and it's never easy
to convert field goals against a team like Argentina who are quite strong in
their defence," explained Lalit Upadhyay who scored in India's 3-0 win
against the Olympic Champions in the FIH Hockey Pro League tie.
"Over these last few months, we have really worked a lot on converting
goals as well as creating PCs. We have also focused on how we must work our way
into the circle from the 25m mark. I feel we can become sharper in the way we
take those chances inside the circle, and this is something we are focusing on
during our on-going camp," expressed Lalit.
He further highlighted that the team strongly believes that they have the best
shot at the medal at the Tokyo Olympics and they are unfazed in this mission
despite several challenges leading up to the Games due to the pandemic.
"All of us in the core group believe this (Tokyo Olympics) is our best
shot at a medal and we continue to work towards that mission despite whatever
challenges we may have to face in the lead up. Our focus will be on maintaining
our fitness level, avoiding any injuries and we will be creating match
scenarios in our practice sessions where we will work on different
tactics," he said.