Australia tour gave us insights into areas to improve ahead of Hockey World Cup: Harmanpreet Singh

Harmanpreet said the Indian players gave a good account of themselves in all the matches, despite losing the high-scoring series 1-4.

Ace drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh says the Indian men's hockey team fought valiantly against a solid Australia in their own backyard and the experience gained from the tour will help them immensely at the fast-approaching World Cup at home.

Harmanpreet, who led in the five-Test hockey rubber against world number one side, said the Indian players gave a good account of themselves in all the matches, despite losing the high-scoring series 1-4.

"The Australia tour was a great learning experience for us. We could only register one win out of five, but I would say we put up a solid fight against a very strong team in their home," Harmanpreet said.

"If you see, all the games were closely fought. We have got insights into the areas that we need to further improve upon ahead of the the World Cup."

The World Cup will be jointly hosted by Bhubaneswar and Rourkela from January 13 to 29 next year.

The Indian team is currently preparing for the World Cup in a two-week national camp in SAI South Centre in Bengaluru.

The camp will also feature a week-long specialised workshop for drag-flickers and goalkeepers under the watchful eyes of double Olympic champion from Netherlands Bram Lomans and Dennis Van De Pol.