Not losing coordination after a long break a big plus: Mandeep Singh

BENGALURU: Indian hockey team forward Mandeep Singh on Tuesday said that it was very easy to "lose coordination" after a long break, but the way the team gelled against Olympic champions Argentina recently was a big confidence booster ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

"When a team plays matches after a long break, it can 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 (in Europe and Argentina)," said the 26-year-old Mandeep who scored a goal in India's 3-0 win over Argentina in the second FIH Pro League match recently.

India defeated hosts Argentina in both the Pro League matches and also won two of the four practice games in Buenos Aires.

"The team is shaping up really well. We just have to keep focusing on the basics and keep moving forward with each practice session," said Mandeep.

Speaking about the Europe tour earlier this year, the forward said, "We played very well against Germany and Britain. 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."

Mandeep, who has 82 goals in a career spanning eight years with the senior national team, added that the side was committed in its goal to "create history at the Olympic Games".

"Our sole focus is the Olympics and I think we are totally on track to put up a great performance in. We are very fortunate to be training for the Olympics in a safe and secure environment in Bengaluru during a very difficult time for our country." IANS

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