Wednesday, July 26 2006 19:46 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bangalore: A new member has joined the Indian hockey squad as it seeks to pull off an impressive performance at the upcoming World Cup in Germany.

Physical trainer Derick Knos from Western Australia joined the team at the ongoing fitness camp here and will work closely with the players till the World Cup, to be held at Monchengladbach from September 6 to 17.

India coach V Baskaran told PTI today that the 34-year-old Aussie had expressed happiness over the fitness levels of players and had also devised some new methods of physical training for the squad.

The Indian hockey bosses interacted with Knos, who has worked with the Australian under-21 hockey team before, before hiring him for the job.

Baskaran said the fitness level and the morale of the team was high after the bronze medal finish at Azlan Shah tournament in Malaysia last month.

"The boys are in good shape. We will have some light workout sessions for the next three days.

"With the camp ending on Sunday, we will now focus on endurance test of the players. Goalkeepers are doing specific excercises on eye and hand movements and their reflexes have also shown improvement," he said.

The Chennai-based coach said as a part of the preparations, the players were watching matches of the ongoing Champions Trophy in Spain to assess the strength of the top teams of the world.