CHENNAI: ACE India goalkeeper PR Sreejesh is confident of a good show by India in the Asian Champions Trophy to be played at the Mayor Radhakrishnan stadium here from Thursday. He is aware that the hosts are the favourites but is keen to take it one game at a time.
"We are confident. Having said that, each and every team in this tournament is good. One cannot take any team lightly. So for us, the strategy will be to take one match at a time," Sreejesh told The New Indian Express. "Of course, conditions are familiar and playing at home has its own advantages, but we need to stick to our plans and execute them," he added.
Sreejesh will be the crowd favourite as he plays in the Chennai Hockey League for Indian Overseas Bank. The Chennai hockey crowd is also known to be knowledgeable like the one at the cricket matches in the city. "I enjoy playing at MRK (Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium) stadium. The crowd support will be there which is very essential. I do not see any undue pressure playing at home. We just want to go and express ourselves," said Sreejesh.
"We have a good squad which has the right measure of experience and youth. We have a captain in Harmanpreet Singh who leads by example and is one of the best players in the world. It is also nice to have local lad Karthi Selvam in the squad. As I said earlier, we have a good team and it all boils down to how we play on a given day."
South Korea are the defending champions of the Asian Champions Trophy. The Indian men's hockey team won a bronze medal after defeating Pakistan in the last edition. The tournament will be played on an eco-friendly astro-turf called 'Poligras Paris GT'. The newly laid turf (polyton) is being replaced after eight years. Since (turf) is new, the bounce will be more.
Experts believe that the aerial ball will land differently, prompting the defenders to be alert all the time. "We are training at the stadium on Wednesday. We will have a feel of the surface and play accordingly. At this level, adaptation is the key for success," Sreejesh said.
Coming into the tournament, India start as favourites, followed by Malaysia. Pakistan are the dark horse. Sreejesh, too, agrees that the contest against Pakistan will be a challenging one. "The Pakistan game will be tough, really tough. One cannot afford to relax for even a minute. As I said earlier, we have a balanced team and we would give our best shot on that (Pakistan match) day," signed off Sreejesh.
