Indian hockey team leaves for three-nation invitational tournament

What’s the story?

The Indian hockey team has left for Germany to participate in a three-nation invitational tournament. The 18-member squad left from the Kempegowda International Airport in the early hours of today morning.

Before the departure, captain Manpreet Singh said: “Playing top teams like Germany and Belgium will help us a lot ahead of the Hero Hockey World League Semi Final. If we play well against them, we will gain a lot of confidence and it will give us a little more time to make minor changes in our game and iron out any mistake.

“We will be able to assess our performance and get ready for the bigger challenge in London.”

After this tournament, India will play practice matches against Argentina and Great Britain prior to next month’s Hockey World League Semi Final.

"We always take practice matches seriously because doing well in a practice match means gaining the required momentum for the start of the tournament. We will also get the feel of the pitch to get a good sense of how to take penalty corners," Manpreet said.

In the Hero Hockey World League Semi Final, India will start their campaign against Scotland.

"We cannot single out any one team as a tough team to beat because every team will play their best considering this is a prestigious tournament and also a World Cup qualifier. We cannot take any team lightly and our aim will be to start on a winning note and earn those three points," he added.

The context

The three-nation invitational tournament will be held in Dusseldorf. India will play a couple of matches each against Germany and Belgium, both Rio Olympic medallists.

The heart of the matter

India will play Belgium on 2^nd June and Germany on 3^rd June. The next round of fixtures will see India play the former again on 5^th June followed by India’s last match of the tournament against Germany on 6^th June.

After undergoing a two-week national camp at the Sports Authority of India campus in Bengaluru, this tournament will be a precursor for the Hero Hockey World League Semi Final.

What’s next?

After the tournament in Germany, the team will head to London on 9^th June and play two practice matches. Then in the Hero Hockey World League Semi Final, India will play matches against Scotland (15th June), Canada (17th June), Pakistan (18^th June) and the Netherlands (20th June) in the group stage.

Author’s take

The three-nation invitational tournament will be a great opportunity for India to prepare for the Hero Hockey World League Semi Final. Thereafter, practice matches against Rio Olympics gold medallists Argentina and Great Britain will provide some much needed acclimatisation and practice in London as well.