Karthi hopes for India call-up after key learnings with India ‘A’ team
Karthi’s return to the core probable group for the national camp and subsequent call-up for the India ‘A’ side was stoked by his performance in the revamped Hockey India League earlier this year where he impressed for the Tamil Nadu Dragons.
Karthi Selvam
BENGALURU: Hockey India’s endeavour to create more depth in the talent pool by giving right international exposure for the fringe players to showcase their potential with the India ‘A’ side has renewed hope for players like Karthi Selvam, who last played for the Senior India team at the Hero Asian Champions Trophy Chennai in 2023.
Karthi’s return to the core probable group for the national camp and subsequent call-up for the India ‘A’ side was stoked by his performance in the revamped Hockey India League earlier this year where he impressed for the Tamil Nadu Dragons.
The recent tour to Europe was nothing but a learning experience for Karthi. “The recent India ‘A’ tour to Europe has instilled fresh hope for India comeback for me. It’s going to be two years since I last wore the India colours and there’ve been a lot of learnings for me in this tour which had a combination of young players and those who have played for India,” said Karthi.
The India ‘A’ side under Coach and former India striker Shivendra Singh, began the tour with back-to-back wins against Ireland (6-1 and 6-0) followed by a win and a loss against France (3-2 and 2-0).
While their match against England was close (2-3), India ‘A’ lost 1-3 to Belgium, and suffered 0-3 and 2-8 loss against the Netherlands. “We started the tour very well and the match against England was also quite close. But we couldn’t finish the tour on a high with the Netherlands posing stiff competition. Overall, it was a top experience for us,” he said.
Speaking about his own game, Karthi said, “There have been some specific inputs that Craig (Fulton) has given me and also Cosma, our Analytical Coach, has provided valuable inputs for my game particularly on off-the-ball tactics. I’ve been implementing this in my game and look forward to breaking into the India side again,” added Karthi.
The India ‘A’ side has returned to their base in SAI, Bengaluru where they will join the Senior India players for the remainder of the national camp.
There have been some specific inputs that Craig (Fulton) has given me, and also Cosma, our Analytical Coach, has provided valuable inputs for my game particularly on off-the-ball tactics
