"Will Stick To Our Original Structure...": India Hockey Men's Team Skipper Harmanpreet Singh Ahead Of Pakistan Clash

Indian men's hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh is happy with his team's improved strike-rate of short corners but wants a curb on conceding silly penalty corners in its important match against arch-rivals Pakistan in the Asian Champions Trophy on Wednesday. "It would definitely be a high-intensity tie. We need to be smart and focus on our actual game plan and our responsibilities. We will stick to our original structure and try to finish better," he told PTI after his team's 3-2 victory over South Korea.

"It's going to be a full-house. It was a near full-house yesterday (Sunday), which is a good sign for Indian hockey." While he is happy that his team is finding ways to score both through penalty corners as well as field strikes, there is still some work on the defensive front --- mainly in terms of conceding penalty corners at crucial junctures.

"We have been scoring goals both through field and PCs. Also, ball possession was quite good, especially during the closing stages of the game. We still need to work defensively and not give away silly PCs. We need to tackle better inside and do most of the tackling outside the box," he added.

Considering the PC conversion debate, the Men in Blue earned four on Monday and converted a couple.

When asked about the inconsistency about the conversion rate, Harmanpreet ascertained that the opponents have improved defensively, which is a good thing for the sport.

"It is not just us, but with every team. And it's mainly because they are defending well. If you look at our defence, we have Amit Rohidas and Jarmanpreet Singh, who have been doing a great job. Also, the opponents are doing the same thing, which is actually good," he added.

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