Tournament favourites and three-time champions India will look to present closing touches to their Asian Games preparation and handle the areas of enchancment within the Asian Champions Trophy males’s hockey event, starting right here on Thursday.
World quantity 4 India are the very best ranked facet within the event and can open their marketing campaign towards China on the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium right here, which is able to host a serious occasion for the primary time since 2007.
It can be the primary time India can be internet hosting the ACT for the reason that event’s inception in 2011.
For India, the first goal within the event can be to check the gamers and get a good bit of thought about their Asian rivals forward of the Asian Games to be held in Hangzhou, China from September 23 to October 8.
With the Asian Games offering a direct ticket to subsequent yr’s Paris Olympics, India are anticipated to check their assets within the ACT whereas additionally taking part in a balancing act to maintain their gamers recent and free from accidents forward of the all-important continental showpiece.
While the scheduling of the ACT simply 5 weeks earlier than the Hangzhou Games has drawn some criticism from the visiting sides, India head coach Craig Fulton doesn’t appear to be too offended by the prospect of that includes on this occasion.
“… It’s one thing that you need to do. But we’d like the video games. So, it’s vital that we play it. It’s even higher that it’s in India,” Fulton told reporters on Tuesday.
“We are looking forward to the positives and negatives. But, at the same time, we get to look at a few extra players as well, which is important for us. Injury is never nice for any team or player. So, yes, I understand the clash and the timing.”
India captain Harmanpreet Singh has already clarified that the crew should be sensible on this event and won’t go all-guns-blazing as its precedence is the Asian Games.
India might need gained each by way of rating and respect in world hockey, however the Tokyo Games bronze medallists fared poorly within the FIH World Cup co-hosted by Bhubaneswar andf Rourkela earlier this yr.
The Indians completed a disappointing ninth within the World Cup. But since then, the Harmanpreet-led facet has performed as many as 16 video games, successful 9 of them, dropping 5, together with a few attracts.
The Indians will come into the event straight from a four-nation Europe tour, with solely a three-day hole between their final match in Spain and their opener towards China in ACT and that too in contrasting circumstances.
The one space India might be seeking to handle within the event is penalty nook conversion fee. Despite boasting of potent dragflickers in Harmanpreet, Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas and Jugraj Singh, the conversion fee has been a subject of debate recently.
But coach Fulton isn’t sleeping over it.
“We have a world-class penalty nook (specialists). All the gamers concerned in it are actually good. Opposition groups know we’ve got a risk there and attempt to diminish it by making an attempt to run down or not conceding as many is at all times one thing that groups try to do, and that’s what we attempt to do,” Fulton had said.
“I think we can always improve. It’s just how much detail we want to go into and how much time we put into improving it.”
Going by India’s document within the ACT, the event has been a combined bag for them through the years. India had received the occasion in its inaugural version in 2011, 2016 and 2018 after they shared the title collectively with Pakistan after the ultimate was washed out.
India additionally received a silver (2012) and a bronze (2021) within the event, the final one simply 4 months after the excessive of an Olympic medal.
China, however, can be taking part in their first aggressive event this yr, having missed the World Cup.
In different matches of the opening day, defending champions South Korea will tackle Japan, whereas Pakistan will play Malaysia.
(This story has not been edited by News18 workers and is printed from a syndicated news company feed – PTI)
Source: www.news18.com
