The victorious Indian hockey team was welcomed home amid huge fanfare at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi on Monday afternoon. Ending a 10-year long wait, India beat Malaysia 2-1 on 22 October to win their third Asia Cup in Dhaka.
The team worked really hard for this tournament. They gave their 100 percent in every match. Our aim was to give our best and this win has given the team confidence.Manpreet Singh, Captain, Indian Hockey Team
India remained unbeaten in the tournament and drew 1-1 only with Korea in their Super 4 match on 18 October. The champions also beat Pakistan on two instances in the tournament – once in the Pool A game and the other in the Super 4 match.
Senior team player Sardar Singh said that winning against Pakistan gave the team more confidence, while remaining unbeaten in the tournament was a motivating factor.
Lead by captain Manpreet Singh, the team was travelling with a new coach. After the sacking of Roelant Oltmans, the senior women’s team coach Sjoerd Marijne was named the coach for the senior men’s team.
Despite joining the team just 10 days before the tournament, Sardar said that the team adopted whatever advice he gave and also stuck to the strategies that he prepared for each opponent.
The squad is now headed home for a short break before they once again join the camp in Bengaluru. India will next play the Hockey World League Final in Bhubaneshwar, starting 1 December.
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