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Hardik Singh, the vice-captain of the Indian men’s hockey team, went down in the memory late to his side’s stupendous come-from-behind victory in the Asian Champions Trophy that took place last year in Chennai.
The upcoming edition of the tournament will be played later this year in Hulunbir City, Inner Mongolia, People’s Republic of China. Before the next season, Hardik said that his team had grown by leaps and bounds and the previous edition of the championship helped them immensely.
Hardik, 25, who has nine international goals to his name, sounded confident that his team will defend the title.
“Coming back from behind to win the tournament was a special feeling, and looking back, I feel the team used that game as a springboard to reach greater heights,” Hardik said, as quoted in a Hockey India release.
In the final, India trailed 1-3 and found themselves in all sorts of trouble at half-time. However, Gurjant Singh and Harmanpreet Singh scored in the second half to save the day for India.
“There is no doubt that we are looking forward to playing in the Men’s Asian Champions Trophy 2024 and defending our title,” he said.
"We aim to be the best team in the world" - Hardik Singh
After their Champions Trophy heist, India won the gold medal at the Asian Games that took place last year in Hangzhou. Thereafter, they qualified directly for the Paris Olympics.
Earlier this year, Janneke Schopman stepped down as head coach of the men’s team after which Craig Fulton replaced him. Hardik said that under their new coach, India wants to be the best team across the globe.
“We aim to be the best team in the world, and an important step in that journey will be to retain the trophy and solidify our position as the best team in Asia,” Hardik said.
“The Asian Champions Trophy Chennai was a spectacular tournament. As a team, we were still adapting to the new style of play under Chief Coach Craig Fulton, and claiming the gold medal was a testament to the progress the team had made under him,” Hardik added.
