All teams competing in the Asian games are important for hockey coach Harendra Singh

08/19/2018

Coach of Indian men’s hockey team Harendra Singh is leaving no stone unturned for the prestigious Asian games which kicked off in a grand way yesterday. Defending champions India will be expecting to clinch gold in the games which will give them a direct entry to the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

After Harendra took over the responsibility of the Indian men’s hockey team, the side has performed really well. They finished second to the Australians in the Champions Trophy at Breda, The Netherlands and are now getting ready for a good show in Indoensia. Coach Harendra is quite vocal and he wants his boys to deliver the goods and not take any team likely in the competition.

"I never think about the rivals. We go match by match. For me, Lanka or Indonesia are as important rivals as China, Japan or South Korea. When you play in the pool stage, every match is important. The priority is always to qualify for knockout stage," Harendra told The Times of India.

He further added that the 18-member squad is mentally prepared for tough challenges ahead in the tournament and the players have practiced well before coming for the Asiad.

"Modern sport is played in the mind. Every team comes to the field fit and with skills. If the players are prepared mentally and motivated, I think they win half the battle for you," coach Harendra added.

India defeated arch-rivals Pakistan in the previous edition of the Asian games to clinch gold in Incheon. The game went into the shootout and the Indians held their nerves till the end to defeat their neighbours in a thrilling finale. But the head coach is someone who doesn’t believe in the past records, as he wants his team to live in the present and work hard.

Speaking about India’s past Asian games record, Harendra explained, "What have done well in the Asian Games is history. That we are the defending champions or eight-time Olympic champions is in the past. It means nothing. We must live in the moment and work on the future as only that matters to me."

Informing about some basic plans for the games, Harendra said that he has asked his players not to think much and worry about things which are beyond their control.

"We are having done one-to-one talks with players and guiding them to motivate themselves. I tell them to control what they can and not worry too much about what's beyond them. Many factors are not in our hands like the pitch. We can't do anything about it. But thinking too much about it can result in negativity," informed Harendra.

Harendra was asked about the switch from grass to astro-turf hampering Indian hockey and its development and he replied, “I believe those were excuses. All teams switched from grass to astro-turf and it was not just India. We did not do our homework during that time and gave excuses that artificial turf had been introduced to kill Indian hockey. It's nothing like that. If we have the skill and execute it correctly, we can perform on any turf."

Led by goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, Team India will meet hosts Indonesia in their opening encounter of Pool A at the Asiad. Apart from Indonesia, India will meet Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Japan and strong South Korea in the group stage of the competition.

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All teams competing in the Asian games are important for hockey coach Harendra Singh

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