India upbeat ahead of New Zealand hockey test
India will look to build on their successful warm-up victories when they take on hosts New Zealand in the first Test of their hockey series at Nelson on October 6. India defeated New Zealand A team convincingly in both matches and will look to extend their run.
“The last two matches were good learning for us and in a way have got us familiar to the conditions here. What is working in our favour is the field goals, which, in a way, showcases the team's ability to break the defence chain to enter the opponents’ D and even our co-ordination during those few seconds,” chief coach and high performance director Roelant Oltmans told a news conference.
“This is a good sign and I hope we continue this. Also from here we will aim to get more penalty corners and convert them.”
The last time the two nations met was during the 2014 Hockey World league Finals which the Black Sticks won.
