This comes less than two months after India was eliminated in the last 16 of the World Cup, which was held here and in Bhubaneswar in January. India won both double-leg matches against Germany, 3-2 and 6-3, and beat Australia in the first and second games in penalty shootouts, 5-4 and 4-3 (after 2-2 in regulation time).
Not only did India’s all-win performance propel them to the top of the FIH Pro League points table, but the team led by Harmanpreet Singh also jumped two places from sixth to fourth in the latest FIH rankings.
The Netherlands, which won bronze at the World Cup, is first in the latest rankings, with Belgium coming in second.
These things (world rankings) don’t really matter to us. We don’t consider this when we play. Our only goal was to convert our opportunities and keep the pressure on the opponent Harmanpreet Singh, India’s captain, stated.
Some of the youngsters who got a chance to show their talent also stood up to the occasion and did very well for themselves as well as the team, Harmanpreet said. Harmanpreet is currently the leading goal-scorer in the ongoing FIH Pro League with 11 goals, one more than Belgium’s Alexander Hendrickx (six goals).
The 21,000-capacity Birsa Munda Stadium has proven to be a fortress for the Indian team, which has gone unbeaten in eight games. At the venue, the Indian team has won seven times and drawn once.
India won three and drew one of four World Cup matches at the venue, two in the group stage and two in the qualification stage. India defeated Spain 2-0 in the first group match and drew 0-0 with England in the second.
It defeated Wales 4-2 in the final group match at Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Stadium before losing to New Zealand in a penalty shootout in the knockout crossover game at the same venue to exit the showpiece.
The Indian team then won two classification matches at the Birsa Munda Stadium to finish the World Cup in joint ninth place.
We are pleased to maintain our track record in Rourkela. We have never lost a game in this magnificent stadium. The Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium is unquestionably fortunate for us Harmanpreet explained.
With so much love and encouragement from fans, we want to go out there and win every single game, said the ace drag-flicker, who scored twice in India’s tense shootout victory over Australia on Wednesday.
Australia had arrived in the FIH Pro League with nearly half of the first XI made up of rookies who had not made the World Cup squad. In addition, India dropped or rested eight players from the World Cup squad, including senior players such as Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, and Nilakanta Sharma.
Selvam Karthi, the fourth highest goal-scorer in the FIH Pro League, was one of the new players who shone brightly. Others who competed in the World Cup, such as Sukhjeet Singh and Abhishek, performed admirably.
There are many positive takeaways for us from this outing here in Rourkela that will hold us in good stead as we prepare for the upcoming Asian Games, Harmanpreet added, after his drag-flick flopped in India’s World Cup campaign.
