Patna (Bihar) [India], August 25 : Ahead of the men's Asia Cup in Bihar, Indian hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh expressed optimism that the team would start well and highlighted the need to have a great attacking and defensive game.
India had won the bronze medal in the previous edition held in Jakarta, where a young team with 15 debutants showed heart in their campaign by finishing on the podium back in 2022. This time, however, with the World Cup qualification at stake, India has brought their best squad to the campaign and will be looking to showcase their A game in Rajgir.
Placed in Pool A alongside China, Japan and Kazakhstan, India will kickstart their campaign against China from Friday onwards. India has won the title thrice, finishing as a runner-up on five occasions.
India is heading into the tournament after a poor outing in their four-match tour to Australia, which they lost by 1-3.
Speaking to the reporters, Harmanpreet said, "Our preparation has been good because we were in the camp for the last one and the half months and we also had our tour as well. So, the preparation that has been done, we have focused a lot on what we had to work on, so we hope that whoever gets in the first match will perform well for the match, and they will start with good energy."
Harmanpreet highlighted the importance of a precise, skilful game on both sides of the field.
"I think if both Ds are important in hockey. When you are attacking, you have to convert whatever chances you get and when you are defending, you have to have a strong defence and structure," he added.
Speaking about the tour to Australia, Harmanpreet said that during the first two matches, the goal was to give everyone in the 24-player squad a chance.
"In the last two matches, we have won one and we have lost a bit closely. So I think we achieved the target we went for," he added.
Speaking on Pakistan and Oman missing out on the tournament, Harmanpreet highlighted how fans enjoy a clash with arch-rivals Pakistan and expressed that India will "meet them sometime in the future".
"It is a good match, people enjoy it. We also like it and the emotions of the whole country are connected. The match is exciting, also tense. This time it is not happening for some reasons, but we will meet them sometime in the future," he said.
Pakistan, traditionally one of the biggest names in Asian hockey, will not participate, paving the way for Bangladesh to make the cut. Oman too decided against participation, with Kazakhstan taking their place in the competition.
After Pakistan's withdrawal, Hockey India president Dilip Kumar Tirkey stated that they refused to come.
"Asia Cup is a very important tournament in Asian hockey. Pakistan is not coming to this tournament due to security reasons. India never refused them; they are refusing to come all by themselves due to security reasons...Oman team has also withdrawn due to their personal issues with their Government," Dilip Kumar Tirkey told ANI.
"Pakistan is not playing in the Asia Cup. Pakistan Hockey Federation itself refused to come due to security reasons. We do not have anything to say," he further added.
Also, former India hockey captain and Congress MLA Pargat Singh dismissed the security concerns and said there was no such issue in India.
"There is no such issue in India, I don't think there is any such problem in our country but they have raised security concerns, indicating some fear in their minds. But there is nothing like that," Singh said.
Urging for the matter to be seen purely from a sporting perspective, he added, "If we see this from a sports angle, they should come... Sometimes Pakistan behave differently, but they themselves are responsible for it. It is not the responsibility of our government. We invited them... But they made this decision over security concerns. This is not good.
"The former India skipper also reflected on the decline of Pakistan hockey, once a powerhouse of the sport.
"Pakistan Hockey was good once but if there are internal disturbances, everything gets affected. So, Pakistan was affected too. How will they improve if they don't play..." he remarked.