India eye wins against England to climb to top spot in FIH Hockey Pro League

hockey team would look to annexe the top position in the standings when it takes on England in a double-leg FIH Pro League tie, starting here on Saturday. The second match of the tie will be played on Sunday. Tokyo Olympic bronze medallists India have so far played eight matches this season and are placed second in the standings, behind Germany (17 points), with 16 points.

The Indian team defeated South Africa 10-2, 10-2 before winning a game and losing one against France (5-0, 2-5) and Spain (5-4, 3-5). Recently against Argentina, the Indians lost 2-2 (1-3 in shootout) before registering a thrilling 4-3 win in the second match. Going into the tie against England, defence remains a major concern for the Indians as the backline wilted under pressure in every match.

Conceding soft goals has been India's bane and vice-captain Harmanpreet Singh had no qualms in admitting that, saying the defenders need to improve their decision-making going forward. "Our main focus is to make the team stronger match by match. We are learning a lot about our weakness and strengths.

We need to improve our finishing, create more penalty corners. "The decision-making needs to improve. The defenders need to avoid conceding penalty corners and tackle outside the circle," he said during a virtual pre-match press conference.

On the contrary, India's forward-line has been impressive, scoring as many as 42 goals in the eight games. Mandeep Singh, in particular, has been at his best inside the opposition circle, scoring some important goals, including the last-minute match-winner against Argentina in their previous game. Captain of the Olympic bronze-medal winning side, Manpreet Singh is the backbone of India's midfield alongside Hardik Singh, Vivek