The Indian Men's Hockey Team Forward Mandeep Singh, who scored a goal in India's 3-0 victory over Argentina in their second FIH Hockey Pro League match earlier this month, expressed that the side's brilliant performance against the Olympic Gold Medallists is a huge confidence booster for the national side. The Indian team won the first FIH Hockey Pro League match against Argentina via penalty shootout (3-2) and further defeated Argentina in two out of their four practice matches on the tour, which was held from 06 April 2021 to 14 April 2021.

"Putting up a great performance against the Olympic Gold Medallists is certainly a huge confidence booster for us. We played very well against Germany and Great Britain as well and it was great to back that up with a brilliant tour of Argentina. We have attained a great rhythm in our last two tours, and we are currently working on a few aspects that we could have done better in our recent matches," said the Forward.

Mandeep added that the team's coordination on the field during their tours of Argentina and Europe was a huge plus point for the team.

"When a team plays matches after a long break, a team could lose its coordination. However, it was great to see how we all found our coordination quickly and gelled very well as a team when we played each of our matches this year. The team is shaping up really well at the moment. We just have to keep focussing on the basics and keeping moving forward with each practice session," said the 26-year-old. 

The Forward further added that the Indian team's sole focus at the moment is the Olympics, and that the side is on track to create history in the quadrennial event.

"Our sole focus is the Olympics and I think we are totally on track to put up a great performance in the quadrennial event later this year. We are very fortunate to be training for the Olympics in a safe and secure environment at the SAI campus in Bengaluru during a very difficult time for our country. We are thankful for the tremendous efforts put in by Hockey India and SAI in the last year. We couldn't have continued to practice for the Olympics without their invaluable support," signed off Mandeep.

 (Courtesy: Hockey India)