News Desk
Salalah A confident Indian team, buoyed by two impressive victories, will look to continue that momentum in their next Pool A match of the Junior Men’s Hockey Asia Cup as there is no room for complacency against arch-rivals Pakistan.
India defeated Chinese Taipei 18-0 in the first match. After this, Japan was defeated by 3.1. India’s real test will be against Pakistan, who defeated Chinese Taipei 15-1 and Thailand 9-0.
Indian captain Uttam Singh said that his team’s morale is high after two wins but admitted that the competition against Pakistan will be tough.
He said, “We have started the tournament strongly and we will come against Pakistan with the same attitude. The first two wins have given us a lot of confidence.
Pakistan is also a strong team and this match will be even. Uttam said that India’s defense is capable of facing Pakistani attacks. He said, ‘Our defense is good but Pakistan also have good forward players. However, we have faced such challenges before and we are confident that we will not let them score. The two teams last played each other in the 2015 Junior Asia Cup final in which India emerged victorious 6-2.
Since 2011, the two have faced each other seven times in the Junior Asia Cup, with India winning five times and Pakistan once. One match has been a draw. India’s head coach CR Kumar said, “Playing Pakistan is always challenging. However, we have prepared well and are focusing on the fact that the result will be good.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings