Playing against Belgium will be great test for our team, says Manpreet Singh
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Manpreet Singh has stated that playing against Belgium will be a great test for the Indian men’s team. On the other hand, the captain of the women’s team Rani Rampal has said that the matches against Great Britain will give a better idea regarding their approach for the Olympic Qualifiers.
The Indian men’s and women’s team have started their respective Europe tours with an aim of preparing well for the FIH Olympic Qualifiers which will be played at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar in November this year. The men’s team will see the return of their senior members who were not a part of the Olympic Test Event in Tokyo for the games against World Champions Belgium and Spain in Antwerp.
Men’s team skipper Manpreet Singh is of the opinion that the tour will be of great help ahead of the qualifying matches against Russia as it will give an opportunity to address the key areas in the game for the Indian team.
"It is a great opportunity for our team to address the key areas in our game before we play Russia in the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers Odisha in November. We have some experienced players returning into the side, and I believe playing against the World Cup and Euro Championship winners Belgium will be a great test for our team,” Manpreet was quoted as saying by the Hockey India.
“We also play World No. 8 Spain in two matches, which should also give us the opportunity to try out our various combinations and tactics before the all-important Qualifiers.”
The Indian Women's team will be playing five matches against Great Britain in Marlow, England from September 27 with Rani Rampal as the captain. She underlined the fact that the women's team have been playing together for a long time and are a fantastic group. They will be playing the USA in the Olympic qualifying game later this year and Rani said that Great Britain are quite similar to the USA team.
"We have a fantastic group of players who have played together for a consistent period. We have worked on some key areas and tactics in our National Camp here in Bengaluru over the past three weeks, and we are looking forward to put everything to use in the upcoming matches against the hosts Great Britain,” the women’s team captain explained.
“It will be an interesting battle for us, as Great Britain are quite similar to the USA team, whom we play in the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers Odisha in November, and it will help in giving us a better idea about how we should approach the Qualifiers.”
