The Indian hockey team have been in belligerent form at the Asia Cup 2017. Under the guidance of new coach Sjoerd Marijne, the recent results have looked more than promising.
India registered two comprehensive wins against Japan (5-1) and Bangladesh (7-0) in the opening games of the tournament. This takes them to the top of the table. Holding the advantage, India will now take on arch-rivals Pakistan in the third and final encounter of the Pool A preliminary round. Pool B on the other hand comprises of defending champions Korea, along with China, Malaysia and Oman. Indian Captain Manpreet Singh will look to confidently spear his side into the second round of the event.
During his four-year term, India’s former coach Roelant Oltmans had helped elevate the Indian sticks from 12th to 6th position in world rankings. As a result, India entered the Asia Cup as the highest ranked side and they will look to retain their No.1 ranking in the continent. Runners-up in the last edition, the team will also be itching to clinch the cup this time around.
The Asia Cup will be India’s only international outing before they venture into the FIH Hockey World League Final on home ground. Crucially, it will serve as a testing ground for coach and team to synthesise on the other international majors that map ahead – Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and the World Cup.
The Asia Cup final will be played on 22 October 2017.
– Varun Kumar | SpreadSports
