India captain PR Sreejesh said that India’s advancement to the 5th spot in FIH rankings will inspire the team to perform more exceptionally in the upcoming Asian games and an all important Hockey world cup.
“The elevation gives us a big boost to do well in the upcoming 18th Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta and the World Cup in Bhubaneswar. We want to finish as title winner in our backyard,” he said on the sidelines of the ongoing national camp at SAI centre in Bengaluru.
Sreejesh believes the challenge in the Asian games will be different than Champions trophy as the team possess different playing style than the typical European hockey, which mostly relies on man to man marking.
Also read: Here is the schedule of Indian hockey team at Asian Games 2018- Men and Women
India will play Pakistan, Korea and Malaysia, whose standard of hockey is completely different, Sreejesh said.
He also said that the pressure will be mounting on every team because everyone wants to get a direct entry into the 2020 Olympics. India qualified for the 2016 Olympic on the back of a gold medal finish at the 2014 Asian Games by defeating Pakistan in the finals.
Replying to a question Sreejesh said nothing has changed ever since he made a comeback as a captain because he was doing his duty as a senior player.
“Being a goalkeeper I speak to defenders and midflielders during games. I support them and that is what I am doing earlier will do in future,” he said.
Sreejesh said he handles more responsibility off the field to keep the player engaged with each other and perform team bonding activities.
He further said that he is just a goalkeeper on the pitch and the responsibilities are equally distributed among the other players.
“We distribute responsibility in the team. Among the defenders, Harmanpreet, Birendra, Bob (Rupinder) have to take leadership. Among midfielders, Manpreet and Sardar, even Chinglensana, have to take the lead,” he said.
“In the forward line, Sunil, Akash and Mandeep are there to take responsibility. So, it is my duty to give life to my team, and on the field I am just a goalkeeper saving post,” he added
