It is no longer a game of ping pong, it is a game of control and power – Gonzalo Peillat on Indian hockey

Delhi: Gonzalo Peillat, an iconic name in international hockey, finished his career for Argentina with 153 caps and 176 goals and helped Argentina clinch its first men's hockey gold medal at Rio 2016. He represented Argentina from 2011 to 2018, before switching his allegiance to Germany in 2022, with whom he won a silver medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics. He shared his views on the rise of the Indian team. “Yeah, as you say, I think the Indians were training together a lot in the last few years. They were doing a lot of camps in Europe. We saw the Indians now, they were in Amsterdam, when we Playing there and that change, maybe the mentality or the structure for India, more international coaches, different approach, more European style of hockey. I think it's a big step for them as well and it's something that's going to happen on the day. At the end, you can see the progress from India. It's not the ping pong game it used to be. Now it's a little more control, more power play situations. And that's what you need in big tournaments,” Peillat told ANI.

Peilat, who recently joined Hyderabad Storm for the Hockey India League (HIL), expressed his happiness about returning to the league after seven years. He said, “It is really great to be a part of the league again after seven years and I always enjoy my time playing at UP Wizards and Kalinga (Lancers). It was really great because you have international players, different It's a lot of experience playing with coaches, international Indians and now coming back after seven years I think it's going to be really exciting. A lot of people are looking forward to this league. And I think it's going to have a huge impact on all of hockey.” Regarding his role in mentoring young Indian players, Peillat stressed the importance of sharing his experience. “Yeah, I think that's the most important thing for all the international players.

We need to help the Indian players and almost the young players because with the rule of playing with only five players at the same time on the field, you need to have a really good balance between the internationals and the Indians and that is our job. There is a big part that we have to try in a short period of time that we have to tell the Indians or the people how we want to play, what is the strategy and what is more successful or not to take risks and this is something that we need to do in these six , in seven weeks actually Need to take advantage while we're there. Train with them, talk to them a lot and try to get the best out of the players so that at the end of the day it helps the team,” he said when asked which player he was most excited to share the dressing room with. Peillat said, “I think we have a really good team. In defence, Arthur (De Slover) is a really good player, I'll probably play with him a lot. And then Goodes is also in the middle, in the midfield. So he is also a very interesting player. And Pasha, our trainer who I spoke to, said that we have really good talented Indian players. So that's also something that we're looking for. And I think as soon as we meet on the 21st, we will finally be able to see what the stance of the team is and how we start training to prepare for the Hockey India League.” (ANI)