Tauranga (New Zealand): The senior Indian men’s hockey team will look to make a winning start to the new season when they take on Japan in their opening match of the Four Nations Invitational Tournament here, Wednesday. India will also play Belgium and New Zealand apart from Japan in two separate five-day series.
With four days of training at the Blake Park and getting used to the conditions here, drag-flicker Rupinder Pal Singh expressed confidence of a good start to 2018.
“The mood in the team is upbeat. We have clocked some good sessions on the pitch, now we are looking forward to a good start,” said Rupinder who will be leading the team’s defence along with the likes of Birendra Lakra, and Harmanpreet Singh. “This being the first tournament of the year, it is important to win some good matches to get the momentum going,” he added.
The Indians have a very good record against Japan as they had begun their successful outing in the men’s Asia Cup last year with a 5-1 win. While ensuring India remain unbeaten against Asian teams is one of their goals, Rupinder emphasised on consistent performance especially against teams like Olympic silver medallist Belgium who they play in their second match, January 18.
“We did well against them in the Men’s Hockey World League Finals in Bhubaneswar but it’s important to come up with consistent performance against a team like Belgium in the lead up to major events this year,” Rupinder asserted.
Press trust of India