New Delhi: After a successful Europe Tour in August, where Indian team defeated France and Spain in consecutive matches, the team want to continue with their winning streak in Kiwi’s land.
The Asian champions on Monday departed to New Zealand to play test series against the Kiwis after a month of hard training with chief coach Roelant Oltmans at Major Dhyan Chand Stadium in Delhi. Now the Men-In-Blue is ready to take the challenge from Black Sticks in their home turf. Indian players are looking positive and expecting some good results from the tour.
Once again Sardar Singh will lead Indian team on the New Zealand ground. The tour will officially start from October 2 and continue till October 11. The matches will be played in Auckland, Nelson and Christchurch. During the tour, the Indian team will play six games against the host nation. Indian men will play first two matches of the series against New Zealand A team and the remaining four match against the national team of the host country.
Indian team will be going to New Zealand after a gap of six years, as they last played against the Black Sticks in 2009, Indian men had won the four-match test series by 2-0.
The tour will prepare the Indian team for upcoming FIH Hockey World League Final 2015, which will held in Raipur later this year, followed by Rio Olympics slated in 2016. On the other side, New Zealand will prepare itself for the upcoming 2015 Oceania Cup and try to get confirm berth for Rio Olympics 2016.
Earlier, India mid-fielder Manpreet Singh said, “We are working on rectifying our mistakes as we would not want repeat the same mistakes in the upcoming tournament against New Zealand.” He said New Zealand would be a tough challenge for India but they were confident for a positive result.
Malcolm Harris, Hockey New Zealand Chief Executive said, “We are very excited about this upcoming series - it’s the first time since 2009 that India men will be touring New Zealand. Our fans can’t wait to welcome India – it’s a great chance for Kiwis to see world-class hockey here in New Zealand. It also provides the Black Sticks with some strong competition ahead of the important Oceania Cup (Stratford, 21-25 October).”
Schedule
Date Local Time Indian Time Team vs Team City
2Oct.2015 13:00 06:30 India vs NewZealand(A) Auckland
3Oct.2015 13:00 06:30 India vs NewZealand(A) Auckland
6Oct.2015 19:00 12:30 India vs NewZealand Nelson
7Oct.2015 19:00 12:30 India vs NewZealand Nelson
9Oct.2015 20:00 13:30 India vs NewZealand Christchurch
1Oct. 2015 13:00 06:30 India vs NewZealand Christchurch
