New Delhi, Back in the mix after a nine-month absence, Indian men’s hockey team goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak says he has worked on every aspect of his game that needed improvement ahead of the upcoming Asian Champions Trophy.
He was dropped from the squad alongside two other players for alleged indiscipline during the South Africa series. The 29-year-old last played for India on the tour of South Africa in December 2025. Pathak was named in India’s 18-member squad, replacing Mohith HS, for the October 27 to November 5 tournament to be held in Jalandhar and Mohali.
Pathak said he fine-tuned his goalkeeping skills in Bengaluru during this time, working hard for a return to the national colours.
India enter the tournament as the most successful team with five titles – 2011, 2016, 2018 , 2023 and 2024. But besides the matches and team training, we did extra goalkeeping sessions so that I keep working on the things that I was told to improve upon,” he added. “We played matches against the Karnataka senior national team in Bengaluru.
“Whatever the coach told me in terms of improvement, I was working on that while here in Bengaluru with the development team. I believe I have done that and am now focused on this opportunity at the Asian Champions Trophy,” said Pathak.
He also travelled with the team to the FIH World Cup in Netherlands and Belgium as a non-playing member before the Asian Games.
