India's Hockey team captain Harmanpreet says inclusion of yoga in weekly routine has been of great help

India men's hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh on Wednesday said inclusion of yoga in ir weekly routine h worked wonders as ancient practice was helping m focus better and improve flexibility.

"Since this is going to be a tough year with back-to-back events, we are working on keeping ourselves fresh mentally and physically.

"Yoga has been ded to our weekly routine and it has helped a great deal in channelising our focus and has done a world of good to our flexibility as well," said Harmanpreet, who is leing goal-scorers' chart in ongoing FIH Pro League.

Indian team is currently preparing for European leg of Pro League under newly-appointed chief coach Craig Fulton of South Africa.

"We h our first meeting with new chief coach Craig Fulton on Saturday morning. He brings great energy to every session and has a well-structured plan for us this year," Harmanpreet said.

"We have good momentum right now, having done well in home games of Pro League. idea is to go into European leg with same confidence." India will play Belgium and Great Britain in Pro League in London starting later this month before travelling to Eindhoven to face Argentina and hosts Nerlands in June.

After Pro League, India will host seventh edition of Asian Champions Trophy in Chennai from August 3 to 12, a precursor to Hangzhou Asian Games in September.

"It will be quite a thrilling experience not just for us but also for spectators. I am hopeful all hockey fans will turn up in big numbers again to watch us play against some of our top rivals in Asian continent," said Harmanpreet.

"We will have a good 45 days to prepare for Asian Champions Trophy after we return from Pro League. Doing well in Asian Champions Trophy at home will definitely set us up for a good show in Asian Games," star drag-flicker said.

India won Asian Champions Trophy in inaugural edition in 2011 and n defeated Pakistan in final to bag title again in 2016.

In following edition in 2018, India were joint winners with Pakistan after rain played spoilsport in Muscat.

In last edition in 2021 in Dhaka, India bagged a bronze.