Kakamigahara (Japan), Sep 23 Their campaign off to a resounding start with two big wins, defending champions India will face their first real test when they take on South Korea in their third Pool A match here on Thursday.
India had a positive start to their title defence, registering commanding 13-1 and 16-1 wins over Indonesia and Sri Lanka respectively.
But the road ahead is not easy as they take on Korea on Thursday before Japan and Bangladesh, which should be a cakewalk.
The top two teams from each pool will qualify for the semifinals of the 12-team Asian Games competition.
The Indians, who had a disappointing FIH World Cup campaign in the Netherlands and Belgium recently, where they finished eighth, will look to put that ordeal behind them and secure a gold here to directly qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Striker Dilpreet Singh has been in red-hot form, leading the scoring chart for India with seven field goals, while drag-flicker Jugraj Singh, with four goals against Sri Lanka from penalty corners and a stroke, is not far behind.
Talismanic striker Abhishek too has shown his brilliance with a hat-trick against Sri Lanka.
World No. 8 India will approach the fixture high on confidence, while head coach Craig Fulton has noted areas of improvement, mainly penalty corner conversions, as they converted only five out of 12 against Sri Lanka in their last match.
The Indians looked by far the team to beat in the pool, but what remains a concern is the untested defensive line, which conceded a goal each against Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
Korea might be ranked way below India at 21st in the world, but the four-time Asian Games champions and last edition’s bronze medallists have the wherewithal to register an upset.
India’s chief coach Fulton is well aware of the task at hand and wants to put behind the recent World Cup disappointment and turn the learning into action in their bid to defend the Asian Games title.
“(Regarding) what happened during the World Cup, we have identified what we need to focus on more coming into this tournament (Asian Games). We’re able to go straight into it and focus on those improvements and then do it as a team,” Fulton had said.
“These are lessons, and the only way to treat them as lessons learned is to turn that learning into action. That’s what we’ve got to do now.
“We’ve discussed everything, gone through everything and highlighted areas needing improvement. At the same time, it’s now about action after all the training we’re doing as we line up for our first game on Sunday,” he added.
After Korea, India will take on hosts and reigning silver medallists Japan on Saturday before squaring up against Bangladesh on September 28 to complete their pool engagements.
(PTI News)
