India's Manpreet urges youngsters to step up ahead of Japan tie

Manpreet Singh

Putting behind the disappointments of last year the Indian men's hockey team will renew its quest for glory when it takes on Asian Games gold medallists Japan in their opening encounter of the 28th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup here today.

Despite being without a coach and a series of injuries plaguing its players, most recent being Gurjant Singh, who returned home after fracturing his nose during a practice match, the Indian team is upbeat and confident of a show good.

"Japan, Korea and hosts Malaysia will be the teams to watch out for. They are traveling with full squads and they will pose a stiff challenge for us," skipper Manpreet Singh said. "The youngsters will need to step up their game and I believe having fresh faces can be an advantage as the possibility of the opponents knowing much about the new comers is less.

"Youngsters have always used the platform to come up with memorable performances here and though the forwardline barring Mandeep Singh has about 12 caps between each other, we are hopeful they will soak up the pressure early on and deliver," Manpreet said. "It's important for us seniors to back all the youngsters in the team and guide them through the tournament to get the best out of them," he added.

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