Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium: India goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak said he had worked on the areas identified for improvement during his time away from the senior national team and is now focused on making the most of his return at the Asian Champions Trophy 2026.
The 29-year-old has been named in India’s 18-member squad for the tournament, scheduled to be held in Jalandhar and Mohali from October 27 to November 5. He replaces Mohith HS and will return to international action after more than nine months, having last represented India during the tour of South Africa in December 2025.
Pathak, who has 156 international caps, spent his time away from the senior team training with India’s development squad in Bengaluru. He also travelled with the national team to the FIH World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium as a non-playing member before the Asian Games.
“Whatever the coach told me in terms of improvement, I was working on that while here in Bengaluru with the development team. I believe I have done that and am now focused on this opportunity at the Asian Champions Trophy,” Pathak said.
The goalkeeper revealed that his training involved additional sessions to address the aspects of his game that needed attention, alongside regular team training and matches.
“We (the development team) played matches against the Karnataka senior national team in Bengaluru. But besides the matches and team training, we did extra goalkeeping sessions so that I keep working on the things that I was told to improve upon,” he added.
Pathak’s return will be particularly special as he gets the opportunity to represent India in his home state of Punjab. The league-stage matches will be played in Jalandhar, where the Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium holds special significance for the goalkeeper.
The stadium is home to the Surjit Hockey Academy, where Pathak spent seven years learning the sport and developing his goalkeeping skills.
“What makes the occasion even bigger for me and others from the Surjit Hockey Academy is that we will be playing at the same ground where we learned the sport for seven years,” he said.
“I don’t think there can be anything bigger than that. I would like to thank the Punjab government and Hockey India for giving us this opportunity,” he added.
Pathak previously served as the understudy to former India captain and legendary goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who retired after the Paris 2024 Olympics. He will now look to use his experience to strengthen India’s goalkeeping options at the continental tournament.
India will open their campaign against Bangladesh on October 27, followed by matches against China on October 29, Japan on October 30, Malaysia on November 1 and South Korea on November 2.
While Jalandhar will host all league-stage matches from October 27 to November 2, Mohali will stage the semi-finals and medal matches on November 4 and 5.
India will open their campaign against Bangladesh on October 27, followed by matches against China on October 29, Japan on October 30, Malaysia on November 1 and South Korea on November 2.
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Article Source: IANS