After losing all their matches against world champions Australia, Olympic champions Germany and hosts Great Britain during the Olympic test event, India are now eager to quickly get acclimatised to the blue turf at the upcoming Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia, followed by the four-nation tournament at Santander, Spain.
"We are going to play in the Azlan Shah Cup (in Ipoh, Malaysia), which will be a blue turf again. Later, we will travel to Spain and France for two Test matches, so it will be a good experience," said the defender, who has emerged as one of the main hopes for India scoring goals at international ties.
During the Olympics test event at the Riverbank Arena in the Olympic Park, the venue for the Games hockey tournament, the turf came under criticism as it seemed to be slippery.
Sandeep admitted that it was tough initially to get adjusted to the surface but said as the players got used to it, the performance improved.
"Playing there was quite different. The main stadium is bumpy and slow. Top teams in the world like Germany, Australia and England have the blue turf so they had an advantage," he said.
"For us, the Test event was our first ever outing on a blue turf. Initially establishing eye contact on the ball was not simple. The surface is bumpy and ball trapping was difficult.
"Australian coach Ric Charlesworth also criticised it and termed it "the worst surface in the world". However, after every match, we improved," Sandeep, who has signed up as brand ambassador of 'Tilaknagar Industries' along with teammates Sardar Singh, S V Sunil and Shivendra Singh, added. (MORE)