A new challenge for the Men in Blue
Manupriyam Gupta MSM-1
The Indian squad for the upcoming 4 Nations Invitational tournament 2018 (to be held from 17 Jan- 28 Jan in New Zealand) has been announced by Hockey India. Hosts New Zealand, Japan, Belgium and India would play a total of 12 games against each other during this period.
The tournament would provide a great platform for the ‘Men in Blue’ to showcase their talent with major tournaments scheduled to be played later in the year including the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games & Hockey World Cup; India would look at this competition as a golden opportunity to reconstruct their focus areas and thus build a core team.
Playing away from home & against such competitive sides will not only provide a platform for many promising Indian players with international exposure but also give an opportunity to assess every senior player’s performance under such pressure situation.
PR Sreejesh, back from injury, will be joined by young goalkeeper Krishan Pathak, a member of the 2016 Junior World Cup winning team.
New inclusions in form of Dilpreet Singh & Vivek Sagar Prasad will strengthen the squad as they aim to further their promising performances at the 7th Sultan Johor Cup.
The defence of Rupinder Pal Singh, Harmanpreet Singh & Varun Kumar would double up as dragfielders as their main aim will be to convert the penalty corners into goals. Birender Lakra, Surendra Kumar & Gurinder Singh might play an instrumental role in strengthening the defense of the team.
Having won the Asia Cup in his first assignment as coach, Sjoerd Marijne will thus aim to extend the morale of the squad with another impressive showing. The tournament would help the team not only by providing the young & promising players who have shined at junior level with a platform to showcase their talent but to also help boost the confidence of the team & prepare them for major tournaments that await this year.
