Published 21:29 IST, November 25th 2019
Hockey: 'In Olympics, rankings hardly matter,' says Captain Manpreet
Pledging to take each game seriously and not loose momentum under complacency, India men's hockey team captain Manpreet Singh said world rankings hardly matter
Pledging to take "each game" seriously and not loose momentum under complacency, Indian men's hockey team captain Manpreet Singh said world rankings hardly mattered at the Olympics and the team would consistently put its best foot forward.
"At the Olympics, there's no easy draw. It may seem that as the third highest-ranked team behind Australia and Argentina in our pool, we are grouped in an easier pool compared to Pool B which has Belgium, Netherlands, Germany apart from Great Britain, Canada and South Africa. But at the Olympics, rankings hardly ever matter. No team can be taken lightly and we need to be our best in every match in the Pool stage which will determine who we play in Quarter Finals. We all still remember what happened against Canada (2-2 draw) in Rio," Manpreet said following a team meeting.
The Men's Team on Monday met for a meeting involving players and support staff where they discussed the draw. "Finishing top two in the Pool is the first goal for the team. We play Australia and Argentina in the Pro League next year. How we do against these top teams will determine the level we are at ahead of the Olympics and what we need to improve in the lead up," he added.
India beat Russia to qualify for Tokyo 2020
The Indian Men's Team who beat Russia to qualify for the Olympics are grouped in Pool A along with Olympic Champions Argentina, World No.1 Australia, Spain, New Zealand and hosts Japan while Pool B features World Champions Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain, Canada and South Africa.
The Indian Women's Team, on the other hand, are grouped in a tough Pool B where they play World Champions Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland and South Africa. "We have played against Ireland and Great Britain in the past year and we have a good understanding of the level we need to bring to the game when we play against them but the Netherlands is one team we have always wanted to do well against and we have not played enough matches against them. They are one team we look forward to play against," stated Rani.
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In the women pool B, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, Spain, China and Japan are clubbed together. "There is no doubt we have to produce our best in each and every game in the pool stage to make the Quarter Finals. The team is very confident that this time we can make it to the top four and from there on it can be anybody's game," she said.
Updated 00:23 IST, November 26th 2019