Retaining No 1 status in Asian hockey is priority: Manpreet

BANGALORE: India men’s hockey team skipper Manpreet Singh said his team will look to retain the No.1 status in Asia when they open their campaign against Japan in the Hero Asia Cup 2017 on October 11. India will go into the tournament as top-ranked team and will take on Japan, Bangladesh and Pakistan in their Pool A matches to qualify for the Super 4s stage.

After a 6-week national camp under India’s high-performance director David John and newlyappointed chief coach Sjoerd Marijne, the 18-member squad seems well-prepared to vie for top honours.

“We are aware that we go into this tournament as the highest ranked team and we aim to keep up the No.1 status,” said the 25-year-old Manpreet ahead of the team’s departure to Dhaka in the early hours on Sunday.

“However, every team will come with the intention of winning the title so we can’t take any team lightly thinking they are ranked lower than us.”

The Indian men’s team also clocked in some good practice matches against the Indian Army squad over the last week to ensure well-rounded preparation.

“We have trained well in the lead-up to the tournament. Our new chief coach Sjoerd is happy with our structure and style of play, so he has not tried to change too many aspects,” Manpreet said. “We believe while we play teams like Japan, Bangladesh or even Pakistan, we just need to stick to our basics and play simple hockey.”

After beating their arch-rivals twice during the Hero Hockey World League Semi Final in June this year, India will again meet Pakistan in their third Pool A match on October 15 in a muchanticipated encounter.

“The aim is simple – beat every team in our pool,” he said.