Indian hockey team has found new energy, says striker Ramandeep

With the Hockey World League (HWL) Semi-Final round the corner, Indian hockey team striker Ramandeep Singh said on Sunday that the team was "witnessing a new energy" that has been propelled by recent performances and a high level of training.

"I am witnessing a new energy in the team in the recent past. We now look at challenges in a different manner, challenges we feel we can overcome easily. This I will credit to our recent performance plus the new skills we are inculcating in our game," Ramandeep said in a release.

"These days we are working on our finishing once we enter the opponents penalty area. The aim is to put the ball across the goal line and for which we are working on many variations between ourselves. The idea is, we should react immediately without wasting time."

Speaking on chief coach Paul van Ass, he said: "He is using the immediate tournaments to understand and work on the team accordingly in the next one year.

"He is very futuristic in his approach and this is creating a very positive and competitive scenario for all of us."

The 10-nation HWL Semi-Final, a Olympic qualifying tournament, starts from June 20 and stretches till July 5 in Belgium. India will face France in their opening match of the tournament.