'Fresh Hope': Karthi Selvam Hopes Euro Tour Will Open The Doors For India Comeback
Tamil Nadu's Karthi Selvam hopes to rejoin the senior India men's hockey squad after gaining experience on the India 'A' tour of Europe.
Tamil Nadu forward Karthi Selvam is optimistic about earning a recall to the Senior India men's hockey squad after gaining valuable experience on the recent India 'A' tour of Europe. He believes this tour has significantly boosted his chances of wearing national colours again.
Karthi, who last represented the senior India side at the Asian Champions Trophy in Chennai in 2023, mentioned that the exposure and specific inputs from the coaching staff have renewed his confidence in pushing for a place in the core group.
'The recent India 'A' tour to Europe has instilled fresh hope for India comeback for me," Karthi stated in a Hockey India release.
'It's going to be two years since I last wore the India colours, and there've been a lot of learnings for me on this tour, which had a mix of young players and experienced ones," he added.
The India 'A' squad has now returned to the SAI centre in Bengaluru, where they will train alongside the senior core group and contend for selection for the upcoming Australia tour and the Asia Cup in Rajgir, Bihar next month.
Karthi's return to the probables was prompted by a strong performance for Tamil Nadu Dragons in the revamped Hockey India League earlier this year, which impressed the selectors enough to include him in the national camp and the development squad under coach and former India striker Shivendra Singh.
The India 'A' side started the tour brightly with back-to-back wins over Ireland (6-1 and 6-0), and a win and a loss against France (3-2 and 0-2). They narrowly lost to England (2-3), before being defeated by Belgium (1-3) and the Netherlands (0-3 and 2-8).
'We started the tour very well, and the match against England was also quite close. However, we couldn't finish the tour on a high note, with the Netherlands posing stiff competition. Overall, it was a top experience for us," he said.
The young forward credited the coaching team for helping him refine his game, particularly with off-the-ball tactics.
'There have been some specific inputs that Craig (Fulton) has given me, and also Cosma, our Analytical Coach, has provided valuable insights 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," Karthi said.
Karthi acknowledges the challenges ahead.
'There is still a lot of hard work to do. There is a fine difference between how the senior team performs and how we have fared as a development team. There are some gaps that we need to work on, and that will be our focus in this camp," he concluded.
With PTI Inputs
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First Published:
July 23, 2025, 14:16 IST
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