Bhubaneswar: India men’s hockey team head coach Harendra Singh stated here Wednesday that the Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) in Oman next month will be the last chance for players and the management to try and test all the combinations before the World Cup team are finalised which starts in the city, November 28.
“The best possible team will go into the World Cup and ACT is the last chance for us to try and test all combinations before the World Cup. Also the final opportunity for the players to showcase what they are capable of,” Harendra said during the media interaction here at Kalinga Stadium.
Commenting on the new ground and the infrastructure Harendra thanked the state government for supporting and providing them such beautiful stadium.
“The turf looks great and the reason we came here so early is that it will help us get acclimatised with the conditions. We had two sessions here and it looks smooth. The rotations on both the right and left sides are fluid and most importantly the boys are enjoying playing on the surface,” the coach stated.
ACT is the last chance for the players to showcase their talent and stake their claims for being selected to the team for the World Cup
After India’s loss in the Asiad semis, a senior Hockey India (HI) official had slammed the coach and the players. He had even said ‘heads will roll’. When asked whether this warning has put him under pressure, Harendra replied in the negative. “I am not focusing on anything else other than my team. We do not have much time and I need to get the best out from my boys. Hence I am concentrating on that aspect only.”
On being asked about the Odia players Amit Rohidas and Birendra Lakra, the Indian coach stressed on performance. “Birendra is under rehabilitation now while Amit has been an integral part of our defence for quite some time. We have a nucleus of 48 players which includes both of them and numbers do change according to performances. Whoever performs better will get the nod.”
Meanwhile skipper PR Sreejesh who was also present asserted that they need to work harder on their penalty corner conversions which have been a major drawback for the team of late. “Yes definitely penalty corner conversions have been a major talking point for us now. We have already discussed about it and will be working on that in camp also. Hopefully we will come out on a better side,” Sreejesh stated.