Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, May 2: With the FIH Hockey World League Semifinal (Men) 2015 around the corner, India’s preparation for the tournament will start with the first Test of the four-match series against Japan at the Kalinga Stadium here Sunday.
With a 24-member squad at his disposal, India’s chief coach Paul van Ass would look to try out new strategies and use new team combinations ahead of the Hockey World League Semifinal which will be played June 20 to July 5 at Antwerp, Belgium.
Going by the world rankings, India (ninth) will definitely start as favourities against the 16th ranked Japan. But the hosts are not willing to take any chances and would look to utilise their full strength against the visitors.
The last time these two teams met was in the 2013 AHF Asian Champions Trophy in Japan, where India lost 1-2 against the hosts.
India have recalled a few young players, such as forwards Lalit Upadhyay and Yuvraj Walmiki and midfielder Pardeep Mor, in the team.
Japan, on the other hand, have arrived here with a full strength squad of 19 members. After finishing sixth in the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, Japan will look to make the most of the upcoming Test series ahead of their FIH Hockey World League Semifinal at Buenos Aires, June 3-14.
Japan has been grouped alongside The Netherlands, Spain and South Korea in that event and the Test series against India will give them ample opportunities to get into rhythm.
Japan coach Keonwook Kang too is taking the upcoming Test series very seriously. “This will be an important Test Series for us as we are preparing for the FIH event. This series will give us a good chance to assess ourselves and rectify our loopholes,” he stated.
“We haven’t played against India in the last few years and we don’t know how they will play tomorrow (Sunday). We have to read their game as early as possible tomorrow and draw our strategies according to that,” added Kang
The three other Tests will be played May 5, 7, 9
