Hyderabad: Indian men's hockey team goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak has stated that he has been using this time off competition to improve his individual game, particularly his footwork and penalty corner defence.
The team is currently taking part in the national coaching camp at the Sports facility of India (SAI) facility in Bengaluru amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
"I have been focussed on bettering my footwork and penalty corner 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," said Pathak.
With no further tournaments this year for the Indian team, he said it is important players bring out their best in every session in the camp.
"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," Pathak said.
While the core probable group has been working on returning to their old form, players are also ensuring all the safety measures are being followed.
"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," he added.
The Indian team has also been closely following the ongoing FIH Pro Hockey League in which Netherland's custodian Pirmin Blaak performed brilliantly during his side's 1-0 win over Great Britain on Tuesday.
"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 analysing this match with the whole team on Wednesday when we have a meeting," said Pathak who was also part of India's junior men's World Cup feat in 2016.
