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The Asian Games 2023 is underway in Hangzhou, China. The Hockey men's tournament which will be held alongside the women's tournament will take place from 24th September to 6th October.
Indian Men's team are placed in Pool A alongside Bangladesh, Japan, Pakistan, Singapore and Uzbekistan. The drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh will lead the side, while midfielder Hardik Singh will assist him in the team.
India have made three changes to their Asian Champions Trophy-winning squad. They have included Sanjay, Lalit Upadhyay and Abhishek in the place of Jugraj Singh, Akashdeep Singh and Karthi Selvam. The team is expected to clinch the goal medal in China and here are the three reasons why India could do wonders in the tournament.
#3 In-form players
India will turn to their in-form players to step up once again to help the team have a deeper run in the tournament. Harmanpreet Singh, who will lead the Indian side, was the leading goal-scorer in the recently concluded Asian Champions Trophy 2023 with nine goals.
Notably, Harmanpreet Singh scored in every single match of the tournament in Chennai. He was also the leading goal-scorer for India in the Spanish Hockey Federation International Tournament.
The Indian captain will be keen to lead the side to the gold in China. Manpreet Singh, who was named the best player in the Asian Champions Trophy 2023, is yet another to watch out for in the Indian men's side.
Manpreet Singh played a major role in the tournament by assisting in several goals. The Indian vice-captain, who is one of the most capped players in the side, will look to use his experience and help the team during crunch situations.
Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh will hold the key in the Asian Games 2023. Notably, India made sure to provide sufficient match time to Krishan Pathak ahead of the Asian Games 2023. The goalkeeper featured in more Quarters than Sreejesh in Spain as well as in Chennai.
#2 India's recent form
Indian Men's Hockey team's current form is one of the reasons why they are expected to win the gold in the Asian Games 2023. The team will enter the Games after clinching their 4th Asian Champions Trophy title.
After finishing third in the Spanish Hockey Federation International Tournament, the team pulled things back to win a record-breaking fourth Asian Champions Trophy.
India defeated top teams like Malaysia, Japan, South Korea and Pakistan on their way to the title. India will be facing these teams once again at the Asian Games 2023 and will be keen to take them down for a gold medal in China.
#1 Motivation for Paris 2024 Qualification
India will be motivated to perform well at the Asian Games 2023 as it will help them earn a direct ticket to the Paris 2024 Olympics. The winner of the Asian Games in China will be qualified directly to the Olympics.
This will certainly motivate the team to perform better in China. In the Tokyo Olympics, India had to settle for Bronze and they will look to finish better in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
