ROURKELA: The Indian men's hockey team last played at Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in their final World Cup classification match, winning against South Africa to finish ninth, which was a disappointing result.
After their ferocious start to the tournament, which included a 2-0 victory over Spain, neither the team nor the fans were expecting this to be the conclusion. However, just over a month after the World Cup, the team, coached by David John, S Kariappa, and Shivendra Singh, is back in this country to compete in a FIH Pro League mini-tournament against Australia and Germany from March 10 to 15, with their first match on Friday against the world champion Germans.
It's their chance to start over and get ready for the Asian Games, which are held later this year and serve as a qualifier for the Paris Olympics.
It's good that we get to play teams like Germany and Australia in these games. The Asian Games will be our next focus. During a press conference here on the eve of their match against Germany, captain Harmanpreet Singh stated, "We are looking to improve as a team before that and qualify directly for the Paris Olympics."
The team is still primarily concerned with controlling the ball, but they also want to make better use of opportunities presented to them and lessen the number of penalty corners they give up during the tournament.
Hardik Singh, who is making a comeback into the team after suffering an injury midway through the World Cup, stated, "There will be some change in strategy, but the values and principles will stay the same." We intend to continue playing aggressive hockey and maintain ball possession.
#HockeyIndia #IndiaKaGame #FIHProLeague @CMO_Odisha @sports_odisha @IndiaSports @Media_SAI @Kookaburras @DHB_hockey... https://t.co/RD89o2CdDO — Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) 1678364234000 "Players are mentally tough" Although the team is focusing on improving in preparation for the Asiad, it is The team has progressed since then and is solely focused on the future, according to the captain.
"Players are always mentally tough, whether they lose or get hurt, because, like in life, they face a lot on the field. Even so, there are times when you feel like you didn't achieve what you should have,” Harmanpreet added.
So, after the tournament, the players talked to each other about what they had learned at the World Cup. Even after our defeat in the Tokyo Olympics semifinals, it remained the same. The team is solely focused on the future as a result of abandoning the past.
Newcomers to the team With the future in mind, several senior players have been rested, and young players like Vishnukant Singh, Manjeet, and Pawan have been given a chance to show what they can do.
Germany, like the hosts, has rested the same number of World Cup-winning players and brought in five youngsters. Despite this, given their performance at the World Cup, the Europeans will be overwhelming favorites on Friday.
India, on the other hand, will have a fantastic start to their new beginning when they play in front of a packed stadium, where they can always pull off a surprise.
