Asian Games | We are favourites to win gold this year, reveals PR Sreejesh
PR Sreejesh is of the opinion that the Indian hockey team are the favourites to win gold at this year’s Asian Games in Jakarta which will also secure a spot for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. No team has ever won back-to-back gold at the Asian Games, If India win they will be the first to do so.
The senior men’s hockey team are currently riding a high at the moment after an impressive finish to the last edition of the FIH Champions Trophy in which they finished as runners-up. PR Sreejesh & Co. narrowly missed out on gold as they were beaten in the penalty shoot-out against Australia. However, a decent outing in the Netherlands meant that the Indian team were now the fifth-ranked team in the FIH team ratings.
India won gold at the last Asian Games in Incheon when they beat arch-rivals Pakistan in a dream final. Indian skipper, PR Sreejesh, who was part of that squad back in 2015 revealed that his team will be favourites for gold this time
“For us the target is to win a gold and qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, nothing less than that. Then we will get two years to prepare for the Olympics. And going by the current form of the team, we can win gold in Jakarta. We are the favourites to win the gold.
“We have done well in the Champions Trophy and we could have won the tournament.
A gold at Jakarta will automatically guarantee India a spot at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and give the players some momentum ahead of this year’s FIH Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar. Long-serving Indian custodian, Sreejesh, added that the return of drag-flicker Rupinder Pal Singh has strengthened the squad and will boost India’s chances at the quadrennial showpiece.
“Yes, it is a compact and balanced team. Sardar Singh is there in the team from the Champions Trophy onwards and Rupinder has returned for the Asian Games. On an average all the players have played more than 100 matches. Just two or three players have played around 20-30 matches. It is a strong team going to the Asian Games and it augurs well for the World Cup (Bhubaneshwar) later this year,” Sreejesh added.
No team has ever managed to win back-to-back gold medals at the Asian Games in its entire history and team India will look to get their name in the record books by doing the impossible in Jakarta later this month. However, the Indian captain, along with coach Harendra Singh, admitted that India needed improvement in penalty corner conversion.
“We are trying to improve the rate of penalty corner conversion. But more than that our main concern is to score more goals. We would want to score goals first and maintained the lead and keep a comfort level. So, it is about scoring more goals, that is our main concern and we are working on that,” Sreejesh said.
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