Krishan Pathak: We have increased our intensity and workload

The Indian goalkeeper took lessons from the Pro League match between the Netherlands and Great Britain.

The Indian men's hockey team is currently training at the SAI centre in Bengaluru and players are also closely following the ongoing FIH Hockey Pro League matches.

The Netherlands beat Great Britain 1-0 in Amsterdam on Tuesday. Floris Wortelboer was the lone scorer of the game while the goalkeeper Pirmin Blaak's exploits at the post ensured the home team defended their lone goal.

"I was quite impressed to see the Netherlands defend the score. Their goalkeeper Pirmin Blaak made very good saves. It is interesting to see the Netherlands trying out new players in these matches. It is important we are aware of how they play and what they bring to the match. We will be further analyzing this match with the whole team on Wednesday when we have a meeting," stated Krishan Pathak, who was also a part of India's Junior World Cup winning campaign in 2016.

With no further tournaments this year for the team, Krishan Pathak said it is important players bring out their best in every session in the camp. The emphasis has been on creating match-like scenarios in training sessions.

He said, "October onwards, the chief coach has increased our intensity and workload. It is important we bring our 100 per cent to every session. We create match scenarios in training sessions and ensure the intensity which we execute is the same as when we play a big team like the Netherlands or Belgium."

Players are also ensuring that all safety measures are being followed in the camp. The goalkeeper remarked, "We are very fortunate to be in a bio-secure environment here at the national camp. Hockey India has ensured there is no big gap in our training and preparations for the Olympic Games. We have been provided with everything we require in the camp and our focus is on increasing the workload gradually and hitting good form by the time we begin competing next year."

Krishan Pathak also said that he is using this time off from competitions to improve his game. "I have been focused on bettering my footwork, and PC defending. We also work on shootouts and I feel it's important to use this time off competitions and travel to build a strong base for my game," he concluded.