National men’s hockey team captain Manpreet Singh is of the belief that the senior men’s team has the potential of making it to the finals of the Tokyo Olympics, provided a sense of discipline and constancy is sustained in the run-up to the quadrennial exhibition.
The veteran midfielder, Manpreet has said that the year 2020 is very important for the Indian senior men’s hockey team. He said that the team can be in the top four at Tokyo, but, added that to achieve this feet the team will have to do consistently well with discipline.
Talking about he year gone by the skipper said that that last year was good as Indian team were initially in fifth position and managed to retain it. Manpreet further said that the main aim of the team was to qualify for the Olympics and he is happy that they were able to do so under a new coach in Australian Graham Reid.
The ace mid fielder said that playing against top teams like Netherlands, Belgium and Australia in the FIH Pro League before the Olympics will help them know where the eight-time Olympic champions stands.
India, who pulled out of the inaugural edition of the Pro-League, are scheduled to lock horns with the Netherlands in Bhubaneswar on 18-19 January. Following this the Indian team will face Belgium on February 8 and 9. The Indian team will then take on Australia on February 22 and 23.
Manpreet said that FIH Pro League will be the first step towards preparing for the Olympics. The skipper added that in the tournament the team will get full opportunity to remove their shortcomings. He added that they have seven months before the Olympics and they want to improve their game with every match.
Manpreet further hailed the return of young striker Dilpreet Singh and veteran midfielder Chinglensana Singh to the core group probables by saying that it is a good sign. He further said that now they have a large pool of players who know how to handle the pressure and this is a bonus for the team.
