Varun eyes senior team return through Europe tour with India 'A'

Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist defender Varun Kumar is eyeing a comeback to the Indian men's hockey team with some good performances with the India 'A' squad in the upcoming tour of Europe.

Varun, a potent defender, failed to make the Paris Olympics squad, and has been out of the the senior side for over a year. He was last seen in India colours during the friendly match against Germany in New Delhi in June last year.

The dragflicker has set his sights on next month's Asia Cup to be held in Rajgir to make his comeback, and is aware that a good outing in the Europe tour will help his case.

''Certainly, my personal goal is to return to the senior team. But more important for me right now is to improve my game. Not having played a proper tour in over one-and-a-half years, it is a long time and the game is constantly changing. The structure has changed and it has also become much faster. The way I am looking at it, is to start fresh,'' said Varun.

''Missing out on the Paris Olympics was painful. I know I was in the reckoning to make the squad but now, I have left the past behind and ready to start fresh with this opportunity to play for India 'A','' added the dragflicker, who was also part of India's junior World Cup-winning team in 2016.

''Playing the European teams, who are preparing for the Euro Cup will be quite exciting and challenging. It will be a learning experience for me and I know a good show here will count, especially with the Asia Cup coming up in India.'' The India 'A' team led by Sanjay will play two matches each against Ireland, France, and the Netherlands along with a match each against England and Belgium starting July 8.

The matches will be held in Eindhoven and Amstelveen in the Netherlands and the match against Belgium will be played in Antwerp.

''Personally, for me, it has been a tough road back into the core probable group. Last 7-8 months I have worked a lot on my fitness and also mentally, it has been extremely challenging,'' Varun said.

''Returning to form has not been easy but I am really grateful to my family, teammates and coaching staff who have stood with me in tough times and constantly kept motivating me.'' The India 'A' team will leave for Amsterdam on Friday night from here.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)