Coach Oltmans concerned over India’s inconsistency
RAIPUR: Manpreet Singh is a livewire in the India hockey team, always talking to his teammates, egging them on, making his views known if someone makes a mistake.
This gift of the gab has seen the young midfielder from Punjab being included in the leadership group and marks him as a future captain. He has the experience of leading a side, having captained the junior team.
As Roelant Oltmans and his wards get ready for their final Pool B match against The Netherlands in the Hockey World League Final on Monday, Manpreet was the centre of attraction, having played a crucial role in the team’s fighting display against Olympic champions Germany in their previous match.
Manpreet had also played a key role when India defeated the Dutch 3-2 in the 2014 Champions Trophy at Bhubaneswar, the last time they met.
“Our performance against Germany on Saturday has given us a boost and the fact that we defeated them in Bhubaneswar adds to our confidence. Holland are a strong team and we would like to repeat our performance,” said Manpreet.
Along with a video of their Bhubaneswar encounter, coach Oltmans will have also closely watched his countrymen’s encounter with Argentina on Saturday in which they faced some anxious moments after taking a 3-0 lead.
Though the coach refused to read too much into the Dutch easing off after taking a 3-0 lead, he said the aim was to have India shun their “up-and-down” performance and achieve a level of consistency.
“I am pleased with our performance against Germany but the big challenge is to maintain that level until the end of the tournament. We have seen in the past that sometimes we play very well and sometimes our performance is below par. It’s up and down,” said Oltmans.
The hosts will also be looking to their defence to hold firm against The Netherlands – as they did against Germany.
Monday’s matches: Netherlands v India; Argentina v Germany