Bhubaneswar, March 30 (PTI): England men’s hockey team captain Tom Sorsby is relishing the “challenging” prospect of playing the FIH Pro League double header in India against the hosts as it will help his team gather valuable experience ahead of the World Cup here next year.
The England men’s team arrived here on Tuesday night, ahead of the double-header against hosts India, scheduled to take place on April 2 and 3 at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium.
“We are quite a new team, so not necessarily in preparations for India, but this group has got some good experience in the Pro League recently,” Sorsby was quoted saying in a media said.
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“And, I think all the experience we get here will be valuable, especially between now and coming back here for the World Cup,” he added.
India are set to host the 2023 men’s hockey World Cup.
“India have been playing really well, they have got some great results. We know they are going to be a tough team to play against, but it’s a challenge that we are really looking forward to taking on.”
“It’s not often that you get to come out to play in India against the home team, so just looking forward to the challenge they are going to give us,” Sorsby added.
Upon his arrival, England Head Coach Zak Jones expressed excitement at the prospect of playing against India.
“Few of the guys have played here before and they know a bit of challenge because India are a good side at the moment.
“We have got a lot of guys who haven’t been here before, so yeah really excited to come out here and play at this stadium, and also get ready for the 2023 World Cup,” said Jones.
With two wins and two losses in four matches, England are currently seventh in the Pro League points table.
They started their campaign with wins against Spain, but lost both of their matches against Argentina last month.
“We have performed really well so far. We are sort of building game-to-game, and it’s really important that we take that momentum and look to get as many results as possible in the Pro League,” Jones added.
