Sakyasen Mittra
Bhubaneswar, Jan 10: Kalinga Lancers coach Jude Felix is confident that his young guns will put up a much better show in the Hockey India League in comparison to that of last year. In the first year the Lancers had finished sixth in the six-team event with 17 points.
“Definitely, I am hopeful of an upward curve this year,” stated Felix at the Kalinga Stadium here Saturday. His team had just played a practice game against the Senior Sports Hostel side winning the tie 4-3. “The target is to take it one match at a time and I am hopeful that we will put up a much improved show this time around,” Felix added.
Talking about the match played Saturday, Felix stated that the midfield and defence will have to improve. “We need to improve in these two departments of the game. There are a lot of loose ends to tie up,” stated Felix. “But I am very happy with the forward line. Not because they scored four goals, but because of the way they created chances.”
Felix is hopeful that Lalit Upadhyay and Amir Khan will be the stars of the upcoming event. “Lalit with his experience is an asset upfront,” stated Felix. “But people should also watch out for Amir Khan. Not much has been written about him. However, I am sure that he will turn out to be one of the most talked about players in this edition of the event,” stated Felix.
The former India captain who has played more than 250 matches including two Olympics is also sure that HIL will revive the game in the country. “Live telecast of any game contributes to the overall development. Also the amalgamation of local talents with international stars is bound to be beneficial for the game in the country,” asserted Felix. “I am sure that if India continue their good show like they did in 2014, hockey will once more flourish in India,” he added.
