It's fun to have Fergus as trainer, says defender Surender

Indian men's hockey team defender Surender on Friday said that working with Fergus Kavanagh has been fun because he brings player-enthusiasm to each session.

"When we train, we do create mock pressure situations and working with Fergus has been fun because he brings that player-enthusiasm to each session," he said.

"As a player, I admired him for his ability to make zero error in most tense situations. I have watched him closely during the Hockey India League (HIL) and having him to train us now is fun and I am sure it will be result-oriented," said Surender.

The team is currently attending a special camp for defenders under the two-time World Cup winner Fergus Kavanagh at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in Bengaluru

Surender further said that in the matches against Australia, the team lacked in defensive skills. He said the team's priority is to get the defense right.

"When we played matches in Australia in May this year, we really felt that we fell short in our defence. We made errors that led to conceding PCs and we also gave away goals in pressure situations," he said.

"When we regrouped in Bhubaneswar for the FIH Men's Series Finals, our priority was to get our defence right. Though we eventually managed to execute what we had worked on, it's now important to show the same consistency against higher ranked teams," added Surender.

The defenders who are training under Fergus Kavanagh include Harmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar, Birendra Lakra, Kothajit Singh Khadangbam, Surendra Kumar, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Gurinder Singh, Amit Rohidas, Rupinder Pal Singh, Mandeep Mor, Pratap Lakra, Suman Beck, and Parampreet Singh.

The camp will conclude on July 14.