Follow us

India vs Australia | Focus on defence and PC conversions as India play third match on Wednesday

no image
no image

The Indian Men's Hockey Team will take on World No.1 Australia in the third test match on Wednesday. Both teams are of the opinion that these matches are crucial in their preparations for the upcoming FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela starting 13th January.

While the dominant home team will look to ride on their success in the first two matches where they beat India 5-4 and 7-4 respectively, India will vie to bounce back to earn the elusive points in the series. 

Introspecting on the first two matches, Captain Harmanpreet Singh said, "We have gone through the errors we have made in the first two matches. Australia is so quick in converting from the set plays even if they find the slightest of gaps, hence we must structure our defence better."

Both matches were fiercely fought with India and Australia going full throttle in their attack. They have utilized speed to their advantage and have scored a total of 20 goals in just two matches. The two matches also saw as many PCs being traded between both teams. Speaking about the high-octane matches, Harmanpreet said, "When it is high-scoring matches and both teams are going full steam in their attack, one too many penalty corners are created."

"While we have managed to create penalty corners and also score from it, we have given away quite a few PCs as well which need to be curtailed in the upcoming matches," Harmanpreet emphasized. 

Talking about the positive takeaways from the two games, Harmanpreet said, "Good interception and counter-attacks continue to be our plus point. We have also been on par with Australia in terms of speed and fitness. We have started the matches well, scoring goals in the first quarter itself. Some of the young players playing against Australia for the first time like Mohd Raheel and Sukhjeet have also done well to perform under pressure."  

"I think we have gained some rich experience playing against such a quality team in the lead-up to the World Cup in January and look forward to the remaining three matches," he signed off. 

Comments

Leave a comment

0 Comments

read previousHockey India names 34 probables for women’s national camp in Ranchi
In an aim to propel the preparations for the Olympic qualifiers and Hockey 5s World Cup, a core group of 34 players will participate in a senior women’s hockey coaching camp. The Olympic qualifiers are slated to be played from January 13th till the 19th in Ranchi, with India placed in Pool B. 
FIH Nations Cup 2022 | Team India leaves for Spain, eyes berth for Pro Hockey Leagueread next
The Indian women's hockey team left for Valencia from Bengaluru on Saturday and will be participating in the 2022 FIH Women's Nations Cup from 11-17 December. The 2022 FIH Women’s Nations Cup champions will be promoted to the 2023-24 FIH Hockey Women’s Pro League, at the end of the tournament. 
View non-AMP page