By Rajendra Prasad Mohapatra
Bhubaneswar, Dec 12: India coach Roelant Oltmans wants his team to do the correct strategic executions and forget about the emotional element in the high-voltage semifinal game against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy hockey tournament here Saturday. Custodian and vice-captain PR Sreejesh has also urged the team members to control their emotions and concentrate more about the preparations.
“No doubt Pakistan are playing good hockey. But we will give a tough fight to them. We will give ourselves 100 per cent and I am hopeful of a good result, stated Oltmans at the Kalinga Stadium here Friday. “We are not allowing pressure to affect us. We have come closer to winning a medal and we are not ready to let go of the chance,” he added.
Talking about the differences between both the teams, Oltmans who was also the coach of Pakistan said that the system in both countries is different. “However, our focus is not on the Pakistan team, it is rather on the semifinal match and achieving a good result. We are quite satisfied to be among the top four countries. But, now that a medal opportunity has arrived we do not want lose it,” pointed out Oltmans.
The Indian coach also stated that there were no injury concerns. “All the players, including (Birendra Lakra) are in shape. Lakra was smiling a lot in the training session. So it’s a good signal for the team,” he pointed out.
Oltmans stated that India will depend a lot on quick counter-attacks while keeping their own citadel intact. “We have chalked out new strategies by analysing their video footage. The only thing to worry about is the emotion factor. Hopefully we will adjust,” stated Oltmans.
Sreejesh stated that the tie against Pakistan will just be ‘another match’. “We are approaching it as a semifinal of just another tournament and not thinking too much about Pakistan,” Sreejesh asserted. He also praised the crowd for their passion towards hockey and showed gratitude for their fanatical support.
