Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], August 8 : Ahead of the highly anticipated clash against Pakistan, Indian men's hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh believes the team is well-prepared for the upcoming challenges but wants a curb on defence and Penalty Corners in its crucial match against arch-rivals in the Asian Champions Trophy.
The Indian men’s hockey team will take on Pakistan in its final group match of the Asian Champions Trophy 2023 at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday.
While Harmanpreet and his team have been playing attacking hockey and have increased their short corner hit rate, India will need to bolster their defence as the competition nears its conclusion.
"It is important to start well and finish off well also. We have to convert our chances. This tournament is very important for us ahead of the Asian Games. We still need to work defensively and not give away easy PCs. We need to tackle better inside and do most of the tackling outside the box There is a lot of difference between the two teams now. Earlier both teams used to be good. But they have the same style of hockey, they play attacking games," Harmanpreet said in a pre-match press conference.
"We still need to work defensively and not give away PCs. We need to tackle better inside and do most of the tackling outside the box," the Indian captain added.
The clash between India and Pakistan hockey teams fixtures have produced some pulsating contests over the years. However, world No. 4 India will fancy their chances against a young Pakistani side, who will be under more pressure to perform with a place in the semi-finals at stake.
"We will stick to our original structure and try to finish better. We are looking forward to the match. It is a team game, we have to collectively play as a team. Every match is important, be it Pakistan or any Asian opponent. I feel India and Pakistan should play more and more matches together. We would like to compete on a one-to-one basis. They [Pakistan] have a lot of players from the junior team.
India have already secured themselves a place in the semifinals after defeating defending Asian Champions Trophy champions Republic of Korea 3-2 in their last encounter. While he is pleased that his squad is finding ways to score through both penalty corners and field strikes, there is still some work to be done on the defensive side, particularly in terms of conceding penalty corners at critical junctures.
"In the first two matches, we struggle as we were missing opportunities. But if we talk about the last matches we have improved ourselves. We want to convert our chances at the earliest in the match," he added.
"It's going to be a full house. It was a near full house yesterday (Sunday), which is a good sign for Indian hockey," he added.
The Indian men’s hockey team opened its campaign with a 7-2 win over China and a 1-1 draw against Japan. They blanked Malaysia 5-0 in their third match. India are the only unbeaten team in the tournament so far.
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