Asian Champions Trophy: Team India look to make a winning start against Oman

World number five India go into the tournament as the highest ranked Asian nation

Indian men's hockey team will look to open their campaign at the 5th edition of the Men's Asian Champions Trophy with a convincing performance as they face hosts Oman in their opening match on Thursday.

World number five India go into the tournament as the highest ranked Asian nation, and will be looking to bounce back from their subdued Bronze Medal finish at the recently-concluded 18th edition of the Asian Games.

India beat Oman 7-0 when the two teams met the last time during the 2014 Asian Games, but Chief Coach Harendra Singh believes that facing the hosts will be a good test for the Indian team ahead of other crucial round-robin pool matches.

"We are very excited to start our 5th Men's Asian Champions Trophy Muscat 2018 campaign against the hosts Oman, who will be playing in front of their home crowd. The opening match will be a good test for us ahead of some crucial pool matches against the likes of Malaysia, Pakistan, Japan and South Korea,” Singh said. “It is important for us to the start the competition by doing the basics right and producing our best performance in order to build momentum for the upcoming fixtures," he added.

India went into the tournament as the defending Champions, having won the 2016 edition by defeating Pakistan 3-2 in the Final match. But Harendra Singh believes that the team needs to minimize errors if they are to lift the coveted trophy again.

"We know that we have a good team which is capable of defeating any country in the world, but sometimes things do not go your way. Therefore, it is important for the unit to keep their focus throughout the sixty minutes and not give the opponents any chances,” he said.