HWL: India look to give better performance against Germany

New Delhi: The crowd witnessed a nail biting match between India and Germany when they last collided with each other and the Indian team is preparing itself to come over the loop-holes and give Germany a tougher fight when they meet once again on Friday.
Speaking on playing against Germany, Indian player S V Sunil said, “We have been analysing the videos of all our matches and accordingly working on areas where we have been lacking. Also, the pep talk by the coach motivated us to give our best on the field.”

He further added, “The previous match against Australia was lost due to our silly mistakes, such as man to man marking and losing simple possession. We are working on the same to better our performance against the Olympic champions Germany.”

Speaking on the practice session India Captain, Sardar Singh said “The practice sessions are helping us to improve our performance on the field day by day and work on our flaws. The youngsters got an opportunity to play against the top teams in this tournament and have picked up many tips by seeing them play. The improvement is evident and this tournament is helping us improve every day in preparing ourselves for the World Cup.”

India

Current FIH World Ranking: 10
How they qualified: Tournament hosts

About the team: India may have only managed a 6th place finish at the Rabobank Hockey World League Semi Final event in Rotterdam, but a strong showing at the Asia Cup continental championship provided plenty of evidence that they are really stepping up their game. A youthful India team battled to a hugely impressive second place finish behind Korea at the Asia Cup, winning four of their five matches and giving a spirited showing against a Korea team packed with experience. The performances were extremely encouraging, and will give the team great confidence ahead of the challenge of facing the world’s best on home soil at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium. Recently appointed head coach and former Australia international striker Terry Walsh will be greatly looking forward to seeing how his team performs in this showpiece tournament.

One to watch: Sardar Singh. India captain Sardar Singh is a talismanic midfielder who is rated as one of the best players in the game. The 27-year-old has been involved with the international set-up since 2003, and in that time has grown into one of hockey’s brightest stars. If India claim the Hockey World League title on home soil, you can bet that Sardar will have played a significant role in that achievement.