The Indian men's hockey team goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who was rested for the Olympic Test Event, believes that the Indian team has the right balance for the upcoming FIH Olympic Qualifiers.
The Indian men's and women's hockey teams have won their respective FIH Series Finals in June before triumphing in the Olympic Test Events in August.
"It's been amazing to see the way our team has performed in the last couple of months. Our victory in the Olympic Test Event showed that we have an excellent bench strength since most of the senior players were rested for the tournament. The team has the right balance at the moment and we are confident of booking a place in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics," said Sreejesh.
The goalkeeper added that the world number five Indian team is looking forward to the tour of Belgium in September as the side will be able to fine-tune a few more aspects of their game ahead of the FIH Olympic Qualifiers in November.
"The tour of Belgium is a massive series for us. They are the world number two side in the world and if we perform well against them then it will be a big confidence boost for us ahead of the FIH Olympic Qualifiers. Hopefully, we will win the series at their home turf," said Seejesh.
The Indian women's hockey team's goalkeeper Savita expressed that the members of the side are communicating well on the field.
"We were extremely pleased with our performance at the Olympic Test Event. Being unbeaten was a very heartening performance and especially playing toe-to-toe with World No. 2 Australia gave us a lot of confidence. The players are communicating very well on the field and therefore we have been able to win tournaments," Savita said.
Savita added that the Indian side is excited to take on England in September ahead of the FIH Olympic Qualifiers in November.
"We have gained momentum at the right time with victories in the FIH Women's Series Finals Hiroshima 2019 and Olympic Test Event. However, we cannot get carried away with the results and need to continue to focus on improving our game. Playing the World No. 4 England side will be a tough challenge in a five-match series, but if we continue to communicate well on the field then we will surely produce great results," Savita said.
( With inputs from ANI )