Oltmans wants more aggression vs Pak
To win this kind of tournaments we have to get a higher percentage of goals out of our opportunities and concede less unnecessary goals. ROELANT OLTMANS, India hockey coach
on confidence after an impressive 4-1 win against Scotland, Indian men’s hockey team chief coach Roelant Oltmans wants the side to “bring in more aggression” when they face a determined Canada and unpredictable Pakistan in two Pool B clashes of the Hockey World League (HWL) Semi Final on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
India skipper Manpreet Singh also cautioned his side against any complacency in the upcoming games against Canada and Pakistan.
Commenting on the kind of pressure ahead of a high-octane India-Pakistan match, Manpreet said the team will come up with a good show. “We always look at Pakistan as just another team and we always look at earning those three points from the match to advance in the league stage. They are a good side, but we have had a good start to the tournament.”
“The idea will be to stick to the plans which the coach draws up before the matches against both (Canada and Pakistan) teams. He has asked us to bring in more aggression into our game and aim at finishing on top of the table in the league stage,” Manpreet added.
India have a fair record against Canada, having won their league stage matches in the 2015 and 2016 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup with a score of 5-3 and 3-1 respectively. India also drew a crucial match against them at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
But Manpreet said India cannot afford to take the opposition lightly as any team can bounce back in a match.
“Though the team is ranked below us, we don’t want to take them lightly. They can come up with a good game and hence it is important for us to stick to the roles assigned by our coach and execute them,” he said.
Against Pakistan, India have enjoyed success in the recent past. In 2016, India beat Pakistan 3-2 in both the league and final matches at the men’s Asian Champions Trophy.
India also won the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup match against Pakistan by a convincing 5-1 margin. This will be the first encounter between the neighbours this year.