Gearing up for the FIH World League Semi-Final, Indian men team’s goalkeeper PR Sreejesh has been working extra hours to strengthen his skills in cutting down opponents’ chance of scoring through penalty corners.

“In a fast-paced game and with the new rules, penalty corners have become goal-scoring opportunities. Everything happens in a fraction of a second and one bad reaction in the penalty corner can take the match away from you. Goalkeepers need to be very attentive and quick to anticipate the shots. We are improving ourselves in this area and our coaching staffs are working extra-hours on penalty corners,” he said.

“Chief Coach Paul van Ass stresses on the improvement in penalty corners and we are trying-out new strategies to restrict goals. Being a key member of the strategies, I am also working on my agility and anticipation skills. I am happy with our progress in this area and very hopeful that our team will defend goals during penalty corners,” added Sreejesh, who is also the vice-captain of the side.

Indian men’s team will open their campaign against France on the first day of the tournament on June 20.

Meanwhile, Indian women’s team custodian Savita also echoed Sreejesh’s views.

“The penalty corner is a very crucial moment of a match and it is also a tense moment for every player. All the pressure come on the goalkeeper as his or her quick thinking can save a match or lose it. Under the new Chief Coach Mathias Ahrens, we are running the extra-mile to improve our skills in penalty corners. We come before the practice sessions and work extra-hours to strengthen abilities,” she explained.

“We have made good progress and getting positive results. If everything goes as per our strategies, we can defend ourselves in penalty corners and concede fewer goals. We are looking forward to the tournament and expect a good start,” Savita said.