Indian males’s hockey workforce captain Manpreet Singh stated that the upcoming Asian Champions Trophy fringe in Dhaka shall be a perfect platform for gamers to showcase their expertise and declare within the first workforce.
The event, initially scheduled to be held final yr, has been postponed a number of instances as a result of COVID-19 pandemic, and can now be performed from December 14 to 22.
This shall be India’s first outing because the workforce’s historic Olympic bronze medal-winning marketing campaign earlier this yr. The Manpreet Singh-led aspect shall be with out eight gamers from the Tokyo Games squad, together with veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who has been rested.
“With around 10 players who were part of the Tokyo Olympic squad, this is a great opportunity for players who have been waiting to get a chance to perform in a major international tournament. It will be a good platform for them to showcase their talent and flair,” Manpeet stated earlier than leaving for Dhaka on Friday.
#maininblue left for his first worldwide journey after his stellar efficiency in #tokyo olympics I
Read what Captain Manpreet Singh needed to say https://t.co/rjNX2qfLUm#IndiaKaGame #heroact2021 pic.twitter.com/h9dvz2ysDz
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) December 10, 2021
Defending champions India will start their marketing campaign in opposition to Korea on day one for high honors in a single-pool event in opposition to Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan and hosts Bangladesh.
“This is our first outing after the Tokyo Olympics so naturally there is a lot of excitement among the players. We have set up a good training camp in Bhubaneswar and I think since the weather here is similar to Dhaka, it will not take us long to get acclimatised,” stated the captain.
“It shall be a great event not solely by way of competitors but in addition to know concerning the capabilities of the opposite workforce. We assess the progress of different Asian international locations forward of the all-important Asian Games and Asia Cup subsequent yr.
After Korea, India will play Bangladesh on December 15, adopted by arch-rivals Pakistan on December 17, Malaysia on December 18 and Japan on December 19.
The high 4 groups from the pool phases will advance to the semi-finals to be performed on 21 December adopted by the title conflict on 22 December.
In the earlier version of the occasion held in Muscat in 2018, India had collectively gained the title with Pakistan as the ultimate was known as off as a consequence of incessant rain.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
