Ever-improving Indian men’s hockey team captain Manpreet Singh today said the past masters of the game are eyeing a top-two finish in the upcoming Hockey World League (HWL) Semifinals in London.
But it will be easier said than done as India will have to fight it out against top teams like Argentina, Netherlands, England, Korea and Malaysia for the top honours.
“While our aim is to finish top 2 in London, it’s important we play match-by-match and not take any team lightly especially in the pool stage,” said Manpreet, who will lead the side in the absence of regular skipper PR Sreejesh, who is recovering from an injury.
“Our focus will be on getting off to a winning start and carry on the momentum from there,” he added.
The Indian team will arrive in London on Friday after playing in the three-nation Invitational tournament featuring hosts Germany and Belgium.
The upcoming HWL Semifinal is a much anticipated and important tournament for India, where they are grouped in Pool B along side Canada, Scotland, Netherlands and Pakistan.
India begin their campaign against Scotland on June 15 followed by matches against Canada on June 17 and arch-rivals Pakistan on June 18.
India will play world number 4 Holland on June 20.
“We will also play two practice matches against Argentina and England. This will be a good opportunity for us to work on our challenges and focus on areas of improvement identified while playing against Germany and Belgium,” Manpreet said.
“We cannot afford to miss out on goal scoring chances and we need to improve our conversion rate,” he said.
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