Under the watchful eyes of Roelant Oltmans, the Indian hockey team’s preparation for a three-match test series against Australia as well as the World League Final is on full swing at the SAI South Cen
Under the watchful eyes of Roelant Oltmans, the Indian hockey team’s preparation for a three-match test series against Australia as well as the World League Final is on full swing at the SAI South Centre here.
The 18-member squad was put through the paces by Oltmans, the high performance director and chief coach on Wednesday.
Pitted against the world no. 1 Australia at Rajnandgaon and Raipur in Chhattisgarh before the start of their campaign for the World League Final, Sardar Singh’s side are working on defensive tactics.
“We were only working today on defensive structures. It’s always the small details that make the difference. I believe that when your structure in defence is good, then you can start your attack properly,” said Oltmans.
Following the Aussie series, the Dutchman’s aim will be to make the last four of the eight-team event. “Like every other team, we will aim to get a place in the semi-finals, that’s the first thing. At the same time, there are eight top teams. The most important thing for us is to test ourselves against the world’s top sides,” he said.
India will miss the services of striker Nikkin Thimmaiah, who is ruled out with a shoulder injury. He has been replaced by experienced midfielder Danish Mujtaba. “There is a lot of competition for midfield places. At the moment we have few injuries. S.K. Uthappa is injured so we decided to go with Dharmvir, Sardar, Danish, Chinglensana, Manpreet, Devindar Walmiki. There is a surprise in the forward line. Talwinder is included, while Nikkin is injured,” said Oltmans.
Defender Gurmail Singh and forward Satbir Singh failed to make the cut while midfielder Gurbaj Singh, whose ban was recently lifted, was not listed in the squad.
Team: Goalkeepers: P.R. Sreejesh (vice-captain), Harjot Singh; Defenders: Birendra Lakra, Kothajit Singh, V.R. Raghunath, Jasjit Singh Kular, Rupin-derpal Singh; Midfielders: Sardar Singh (capt), Chinglensana Singh Kangu-jam, Devindar Walmiki, Manpreet Singh, Dharamvir Singh, Danish Mujtaba; Forwards: S.V. Sunil, Ram-andeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Lalit Upadhyay, Talwinder Singh
