Bengaluru, Sep 3 (Hockey News) Defender Surender Kumar rued the missed opportunities after losing to Australia in the Commonwealth Games final and said the Indian team will look to work on the teething problems ahead of the upcoming FIH Hockey Pro League.

India had to settle for a silver medal in Birmingham after going down 0-7 to Australia in the summit clash last month.

The squad is now training its focus on the Pro League games in Bhubaneshwar in Odisha next month.

"We played well in the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games overall, and it's just that looking back I feel it would have been nicer if we could have taken our chances in the final then we could have made a comeback," Kumar said in a Hockey India release.

"We made some mistakes in the final against Australia and we could not execute the plans we had properly. Now in this camp, we will focus on those mistakes from the final and look to work on them so that we don't make the same errors going forward." India will play New Zealand and Spain between October 28 and November 6 in the Pro League.

"Before 2022-23 FIH Hockey Pro League, the team is hoping to work out teething problems. Going forward, we are now focusing on the games against New Zealand and Spain. We have to work hard and correct our mistakes in the camp now so that the mistakes don't happen again," he said.

"The team and the coaches will sit down in the camp together and analyze things with videos and break it down as we look to improve on our plans." With 165 games under his belt, Kumar is an experienced player, who was also part of the Indian team which won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

"The target for the Pro League is that, personally, I hope to make as few mistakes as possible and put my best foot forward so that it doesn't hurt the team.

"As a team, we will work hard to perform well and play our best game so that we can get the desired results," he signed off. 

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News Source : PTI