Bengaluru, February 27
India’s hockey captain Sardar Singh said his side had enough firepower to tackle strong opponents such as world No. 1 Australia and reigning Olympics champions Argentina at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, beginning Saturday. India will open their campaign against world No. 2 Argentina on Saturday.
The experienced mid-fielder exuded confidence that India could come up with a solid show in the season-opening event, which also features England, Ireland and hosts Malaysia. “It is extremely important to start the tournament well. A good match against Argentina will give the team the confidence for the rest of the matches,” said Sardar. “We have beaten teams like Australia and England in the past and have done well against Argentina too. We just need to ensure we play in a structured manner and execute the plans perfectly,” Sardar said ahead of the team’s departure.
“The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup has for long been a tournament that sets the pace for the rest of the calendar year and doing well here will be important for us. We have had a gruelling camp, where the focus was on taking our attack and defensive skills to the next level,” said the 31-year-old.
In the previous edition, India had finished third after beating New Zealand 4-0, while Great Britain won the title after beating Australia 4-3 in the final.
Since the tournament’s inception in 1983, the Indian team has lifted the trophy five times (1985, 1991, 1995, 2009) and shared the trophy with South Korea in 2010. In 2016, when Sardar Singh last captained the Indian team, they had ended the tournament with a silver medal after losing 0-4 to Australia in the final. — PTI
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