Indian hockey team can succeed at CWG, World Cup: Manpreet
"The importance 2018 cannot be over-emphasised. It's not only important but critical too, looking ahead to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Most fans would know that we are steadily climbing in terms of performance, displaying better skills and that would refl
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NEW DELHI: Indian men's hockey captain Manpreet Singh, who led the side to the Asia Cup title last year, believes that the challenges of a very critical 2018 can be met with successful results, given the promise he has seen at close range over the past few years.
ALSO READ: India is big enough for cricket and hockey to co-exist, says Manpreet
This year, leading upto the FIH World Cup in Bhubaneshwar in November-December, the Indian team will compete at the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. Writing in his column for TOI, Manpreet felt that his team could win laurels in 2018 given the good mix of experience and youth under the guidance of coach Sjoerd Marijne.
"The importance 2018 cannot be over-emphasised. It's not only important but critical too, looking ahead to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Most fans would know that we are steadily climbing in terms of performance, displaying better skills and that would reflect in our rankings which at the moment put us at No 6 on the FIH listings," wrote the 25-year-old.
"I am confident that a year in which we play the Commonwealth Games (April), Asian Games (August) and the World Cup (November) will see a spike in our performance resulting in massive doses of confidence that should see us more often on the victory podium with the national team winning more and more medals. Younger players get more chances as the team is rotated for tournaments; importantly they also get to play with the seniors and the mentorship helps them gain confidence against bigger teams."
Mahindra Scorpio TOISA 2018 Nominees: Hockey
Under the captaincy of Manpreet in 2017, the men's hockey team beat Malaysia 2-1 to secure the Asia Cup title after ten years. In additional, it took home bronze medals at the Hockey World League Final in Bhubaneshwar and the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and finished second in Pool B at the WHL semi-finals in London, highlights being wins over Pakistan by 7-1 and 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals.
The 2018 Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast City, in the southeast of the Australian state of Queensland from April 4-15, will see the hockey team start off in the qualification round. Manpreet felt India had caught up with Australia, one of the dominant teams in international hockey.
"The Commonwealth Games is very important and we have closed the gap on the Australians. Even though it's a challenge meeting them in Australia, we will go all out to beat them; hopefully what should be the final. But it doesn't mean we are taking the others lightly," he wrote. "As captain of the team, we are working on creating more penalty corners and converting them into goals. We realised to win consistently; we have to score from every opportunity we get."
On Tuesday, Hockey India announced a squad for next month's Sultan Azlan Shah in Malaysia that did not include Manpreet. In his absence, the captaincy went to the recalled veteran Sardar Singh. According to Manpreet, the squad for the tournament was well-balanced, coached by Marijne, who in his first assignment last year oversaw the Asia Cup triumph.
"The team for the Azlan Shah is a good combination of young and senior players with four players making their debut. I have to say that our coach Sjoerd Marijne is a positive influence and constantly motivates us off and on the field. Players always share with him and a very strong team spirit has been forged. Tactically we are working hard so that we can beat the bigger teams consistently," he wrote.
ALSO READ: India is big enough for cricket and hockey to co-exist, says Manpreet
This year, leading upto the FIH World Cup in Bhubaneshwar in November-December, the Indian team will compete at the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. Writing in his column for TOI, Manpreet felt that his team could win laurels in 2018 given the good mix of experience and youth under the guidance of coach Sjoerd Marijne.
"The importance 2018 cannot be over-emphasised. It's not only important but critical too, looking ahead to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Most fans would know that we are steadily climbing in terms of performance, displaying better skills and that would reflect in our rankings which at the moment put us at No 6 on the FIH listings," wrote the 25-year-old.
"I am confident that a year in which we play the Commonwealth Games (April), Asian Games (August) and the World Cup (November) will see a spike in our performance resulting in massive doses of confidence that should see us more often on the victory podium with the national team winning more and more medals. Younger players get more chances as the team is rotated for tournaments; importantly they also get to play with the seniors and the mentorship helps them gain confidence against bigger teams."
Mahindra Scorpio TOISA 2018 Nominees: Hockey
Under the captaincy of Manpreet in 2017, the men's hockey team beat Malaysia 2-1 to secure the Asia Cup title after ten years. In additional, it took home bronze medals at the Hockey World League Final in Bhubaneshwar and the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and finished second in Pool B at the WHL semi-finals in London, highlights being wins over Pakistan by 7-1 and 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals.
The 2018 Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast City, in the southeast of the Australian state of Queensland from April 4-15, will see the hockey team start off in the qualification round. Manpreet felt India had caught up with Australia, one of the dominant teams in international hockey.
"The Commonwealth Games is very important and we have closed the gap on the Australians. Even though it's a challenge meeting them in Australia, we will go all out to beat them; hopefully what should be the final. But it doesn't mean we are taking the others lightly," he wrote. "As captain of the team, we are working on creating more penalty corners and converting them into goals. We realised to win consistently; we have to score from every opportunity we get."
On Tuesday, Hockey India announced a squad for next month's Sultan Azlan Shah in Malaysia that did not include Manpreet. In his absence, the captaincy went to the recalled veteran Sardar Singh. According to Manpreet, the squad for the tournament was well-balanced, coached by Marijne, who in his first assignment last year oversaw the Asia Cup triumph.
"The team for the Azlan Shah is a good combination of young and senior players with four players making their debut. I have to say that our coach Sjoerd Marijne is a positive influence and constantly motivates us off and on the field. Players always share with him and a very strong team spirit has been forged. Tactically we are working hard so that we can beat the bigger teams consistently," he wrote.
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