The Olympic bronze medalist Indian males’s hockey crew will start their new spherical with a bunch of kids initially of their Asian Champions Trophy marketing campaign in opposition to Korea right here on Tuesday.
India has received this prestigious occasion thrice since its inception in 2011 and has received the final two editions held in Kuantan, Malaysia in 2016 and Muscat, Oman in 2018.
India will play their first match in opposition to Korea on 14 December, adopted by their match in opposition to hosts Bangladesh on the subsequent day (15 December).
Their third match will probably be in opposition to arch-rivals Pakistan on December 17 and they’ll face Asian Games champions Japan on December 19. The semi-finals and ultimate will probably be held on December 21 and 22, respectively.
Captain Manpreet Singh insisted on a great begin.
“Korea are a good team and very capable of slowing down our attack. It is at this place that we drew (1-1) against them in the league stage during the 2017 Asia Cup. So, it is important that we play against them. Don’t get complacent and make sure our basics are right when we play them tomorrow.”
Speaking in regards to the significance of the event, Manpreet stated, “The event is essential for us as that is our first event after the Tokyo Olympics. A brand new cycle has begun for us. If we begin nicely then our confidence degree will go up rather a lot.
Many children have been given alternatives within the Indian crew for the event and Manpreet defined why it will be vital for them to do nicely right here.
“The youth have been given an opportunity to be part of the crew as a few of them didn’t get an opportunity within the final two years as the main target was on the core crew making ready for the Olympics. The children have been working laborious for a very long time and therefore they’ve been given an opportunity to show themselves.
Speaking on the crew’s health degree forward of the beginning of the event, the Indian skipper stated: “We are in fairly good condition. We paid quite a lot of consideration to our health just lately on the camp in Bhubaneswar.
“We look forward to seeing how other Asian teams have shaped up over the past two years. The tournament will be a good test for our squad,” he signed off.
In the earlier version of the occasion held in Muscat, India had collectively received the title with Pakistan as the ultimate was known as off on account of incessant rain.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
