Gleaming with confidence ace Indian drag flicker Rupinder Pal Singh says the Indian hockey team is eager to carry forward the winning momentum into the upcoming Asian Games and re-gain the gold medal.
“Personally for me, playing against a quality team like New Zealand who won the silver medal at the Commonwealth Games was very important. Since I had missed out all the action during the Champions Trophy, I had to find my rhythm ahead of the Asian Games in Jakarta,” said Rupinder who scored 10 goals from PC for “India A” clean sweeping Bangladesh 4-0 at the SAI centre, Bengaluru in July.
The Delhi Waveriders fullback last appeared in the national colours at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games where India failed to bag a medal. To make the situation worse, Rupinder caught a hamstring injury during the multi sport event which sidelined him from the Champions trophy where India returned with silver medal.
“It is frustrating for any player to be watching the team play on TV but it was critical for me to undergo rehab in order to be match-fit and available for the Asian Games selections,” Rupinder expressed after the 3-0 series win against New Zealand.
In order to gain the right match practice, Rupinder appeared in four practice matches for India A against Bangladesh early this month. He also played two practice matches against South Korea at SAI Centre, Bengaluru.
“I think having Bangladesh, South Korea and New Zealand visit us ahead of major tournaments was a blessing in disguise. The team tried out different combinations and tested different variations in converting PC. We also tried new methods of creating PCs where I think the team did well. Our main criteria was to improve goal scoring,” said the 27-year-old from Faridkot.
After some successful outings in the recent time, the Indian team has returned home for a week-long break and will return to the National Camp on August 1 in Bengaluru.
Rupinder said the team will further work on the specific areas to ensure every basic is covered in persuit to the preparations for the Asian Games.
“The one-week break will help us rejuvenate as some of us have been in the National Camp continuously since April 28. When we return to camp, the team will sit together, watch videos from our matches against New Zealand and try and find out ways to improve further. We are eager to defend the Gold Medal at Asian Games in Jakarta,” he concluded.
India is grouped with Korea, Japan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Hong Kong China in group A of men’s hockey at Asian Games.
