Vice-captain Hardik said on the arrival of the Indian hockey team in Chennai – We need to control the pace of the game. Loktej Sports News

Chennai, 1 August (Hindustan Times). The Indian men’s hockey team will need to control the pace of the game better and switch it on from the start to make a positive start to the Asian Champions Trophy starting on Thursday. On reaching Chennai on Tuesday, vice-captain Hardik Singh said it will be a tough competition for the Indian team as it will also be preparation for the upcoming Asian Games.

Hockey India in a release on Tuesday quoted Hardik as saying, “I believe that every team participating in the competition presents a tough challenge due to the quality of the team. As a result, our approach will be to prepare diligently for each match.

Hardik lauded the team’s performance in the recent Spain tour and said, “We did well in Spain, especially in the last few matches which included the 2-1 win against Netherlands.” Full of confidence and determination, the Indian The men’s hockey team arrived here on Tuesday morning with an aim to win the coveted title in the Asian Champions Trophy.

The Indian team received a warm welcome from fans who gathered in large numbers outside the Chennai International Airport to welcome the team that arrived from Spain, where the team participated in a tournament to mark the centenary year of the Spanish Hockey Federation Was.

Under the leadership of Captain Harmanpreet Singh, the Indian men’s hockey team is preparing for the Asian Champions Trophy Chennai 2023 with rigorous training, strategic planning and strong team camaraderie. Notably, India is the most successful team along with Pakistan in the history of the tournament as both the teams have won the Asian Champions Trophy thrice each. Hence, the hosts will now aim to lift the trophy for a record fourth time and write a new chapter in Indian hockey history.

The Indian team will play against Japan, Korea, Pakistan, China and Malaysia during the tournament. The tournament will be held from August 3 to 12 at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium. India will start its campaign against China on Thursday (August 3). As per the tournament format, all six teams will play five matches in a round-robin stage before the top four teams advance to the semi-finals.

Speaking on India’s preparations for the tournament and the team’s recent performance, head coach Craig Fulton said, “I think we did really well in the recently concluded four-nation tournament in Spain. In the last 10 days, we faced some good opponents and did well against them. We have started playing the way we like to play. Also, we have made some tactical changes in our game in our recent games and will now aim to implement them in the Asian Champions Trophy.”

“We will use this tournament as a platform to prepare for the upcoming Asian Games,” he added. Notably, out of the six participating teams, India, Malaysia, Japan and Korea have already reached the host city Chennai. While Pakistan and China are scheduled to reach here on Tuesday night.