{"id":40808,"date":"2024-12-25T14:23:06","date_gmt":"2024-12-25T14:23:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/?p=40808"},"modified":"2024-12-25T14:23:06","modified_gmt":"2024-12-25T14:23:06","slug":"hil-will-take-indian-hockey-to-the-top-and-help-us-stay-there-says-up-rudras-forward-lalit-kumar-upadhyay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/?p=40808","title":{"rendered":"HIL will take Indian Hockey to the top and help us stay there,\u2019 says UP Rudras\u2019 forward Lalit Kumar Upadhyay"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-38154\" src=\"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Lalit_Upadhyay-Hockey.jpg\" alt=\"Lalit Upadhyay Hockey\" width=\"850\" style=\"display: block; margin: 8px auto;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Lalit_Upadhyay-Hockey.jpg 835w, https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Lalit_Upadhyay-Hockey-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Lalit_Upadhyay-Hockey-768x547.jpg 768w, https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Lalit_Upadhyay-Hockey-150x107.jpg 150w, https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Lalit_Upadhyay-Hockey-696x496.jpg 696w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 835px) 100vw, 835px\" \/>Rourkela:<\/strong> As the excitement builds for the return of the Hero Hockey India League (HIL), Lalit Kumar Upadhyay of the UP Rudras is gearing up in Rourkela, training with his new team to face the Vedanta Kalinga Lancers in less than a week. A seasoned forward for the Indian Men\u2019s Hockey Team and a two-time Olympic Bronze medallist, Lalit credits the HIL for shaping his early career and providing the opportunity to fight for his place on the national team.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen the league was introduced, it was a huge platform for Indian players. It offered us a chance to showcase our talent and directly make it to the squad,\u201d Lalit remarked. He highlighted the financial and professional support the league has provided, noting its instrumental role in elevating the sport\u2019s profile. \u201cIt gave us the experience of playing with legends we had only seen on TV. Sharing the field with such icons boosted our confidence and made us more comfortable in competitive scenarios. India\u2019s performance graph went up after the first HIL, and with the league returning now, I am sure it will take us to the top and help us stay there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lalit\u2019s journey with the Kalinga Lancers began in 2013 during the previous edition of the HIL. This platform allowed him to showcase his skills on an international stage and carve a path to the Indian Men\u2019s Hockey Team. Reflecting on his time in the league, Lalit shared his three most cherished HIL moments:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was out of the Indian Junior Men\u2019s Hockey Team for the Junior World Cup in 2013, but as a Kalinga Lancer, I scored one of my best goals against the UP team. It was one of the best goals of the season and a key reason why I was selected for the Indian team at the Rabobank Hockey World Cup 2014,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy second-best memory is from the 2017 season. Again, as part of the Kalinga Lancers, I scored notable goals and helped the team win the title. We had several close games, many going down to penalty shootouts. In the semi-final match against the UP Wizards, I bypassed the Great Wall of Indian Hockey, PR Sreejesh, to score a crucial goal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut my best moment was when the Kalinga Lancers decided to retain me and showed faith in me to lead the line as a young forward. That trust was reassuring and built the confidence I carry to this day,\u201d the 31-year-old added.<\/p>\n<p>As the Hero HIL returns, Lalit is joined by fellow Olympic Bronze medallists Hardik Singh and Simranjeet Singh, along with international stars like Lars Balk, Floris Wortelboer, and Sam Ward in the UP Rudras. Together, they aim to guide and nurture the next generation of Indian hockey players while putting on a spectacular show for spectators in Rourkela, Odisha.<\/p>\n<p>Looking ahead to the season, Lalit expressed optimism about team dynamics and the role of franchise support. \u201cWith a new team, it takes time to adjust, but as tournaments progress, bonding improves naturally. The franchise has been incredibly supportive, and the coaching staff\u2019s expertise is invaluable in guiding us to perform at our best,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rourkela: As the excitement builds for the return of the Hero Hockey India League (HIL), Lalit Kumar Upadhyay of the UP Rudras is gearing up in Rourkela, training with his new team to face the Vedanta Kalinga Lancers in less than a week. A seasoned forward for the Indian Men\u2019s Hockey Team and a two-time [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hockey-hockey"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>HIL will take Indian Hockey to the top and help us stay there,\u2019 says UP Rudras\u2019 forward Lalit Kumar Upadhyay - IndianSportsNews.com - Latest Updated Sports News &amp; Sports Blogs of Cricket, Hockey, Golf, Football, Tennis &amp; Other Sports<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/?p=40808\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"HIL will take Indian Hockey to the top and help us stay there,\u2019 says UP Rudras\u2019 forward Lalit Kumar Upadhyay - IndianSportsNews.com - Latest Updated Sports News &amp; Sports Blogs of Cricket, Hockey, Golf, Football, Tennis &amp; Other Sports\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rourkela: As the excitement builds for the return of the Hero Hockey India League (HIL), Lalit Kumar Upadhyay of the UP Rudras is gearing up in Rourkela, training with his new team to face the Vedanta Kalinga Lancers in less than a week. A seasoned forward for the Indian Men\u2019s Hockey Team and a two-time [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/?p=40808\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"IndianSportsNews.com - Latest Updated Sports News &amp; Sports Blogs of Cricket, Hockey, Golf, Football, Tennis &amp; Other Sports\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-25T14:23:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Lalit_Upadhyay-Hockey.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"835\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"595\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indiansportsnews.co.in\\\/?p=40808#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indiansportsnews.co.in\\\/?p=40808\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indiansportsnews.co.in\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b8f51f3c66686ab3518464e9b8368646\"},\"headline\":\"HIL will take Indian Hockey to the top and help us stay there,\u2019 says UP Rudras\u2019 forward Lalit Kumar Upadhyay\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-25T14:23:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indiansportsnews.co.in\\\/?p=40808\"},\"wordCount\":550,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indiansportsnews.co.in\\\/?p=40808#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indiansportsnews.co.in\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/Lalit_Upadhyay-Hockey.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Hockey\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/indiansportsnews.co.in\\\/?p=40808#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indiansportsnews.co.in\\\/?p=40808\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/indiansportsnews.co.in\\\/?p=40808\",\"name\":\"HIL will take Indian Hockey to the top and help us stay there,\u2019 says UP Rudras\u2019 forward Lalit Kumar Upadhyay - IndianSportsNews.com - Latest Updated Sports News &amp; 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