Bhubaneswar, Feb 14: Indian men’s hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh on Friday said his team’s target is to win every FIH Pro League match and finish on top of the league to earn a direct ticket to the 2026 World Cup.
India will open their FIH Pro League campaign against Spain on Saturday in Bhubaneswar.
They will next play Spain again the next day, followed by matches against Germany on February 16 and 19 in the opening leg of the India tour.
“Our training is going well from Hockey India League, we have been preparing for months, have learnt a lot from HIL. We have been able to maintain our fitness as well,” Harmanpreet said ahead of the FIH Pro League opener.
“We just wan to play good hockey, all players in good shape and the target is to win every game (in Pro League) looking at the World Cup,” he added.
The 2026 men’s hockey World Cup will be held from August 14 to 30 in Wavre, Belgium and Amstelveen, Netherlands.
Harmanpreet, regarded as one of the best dragflickers in the world currently, praised HIL’s top-scorer Jugraj Singh for his flicking abilities and said the rise of next generation of domestic players augur well for the national side.
“We have seen some good domestic players in HIL. It was an opportunity for youngsters and they performed well,” he said.
“Jugraj was the top-scorer and he was brilliant. I am happy for him and it is beneficial for the national team as well.”
Harmanpreet, however, was in no mood to take Spain lightly.
“Spain is a good team, we can’t take them lightly. Our focus is to give our best and win the match,” he said.
India’s chief coach Craig Fulton said the FIH Pro League is a “building phase” for the side.
“It’s a building phase for us. We will look to try out things and see what best suits us. We will like to use our players’ HIL experience and integrate their learning into the team,” he said. (PTI)
