Bengaluru: Practice was in full swing at the Sports Authority of India hockey field where the junior men’s team, under the watchful eyes of India head coach Roelant Oltmans and junior men’s coach Harendra Singh, sweated it out during a strength and conditioning and ‘defend lifting skills’ drills on Tuesday.
The colts, fresh from a thumping 5-2 victory over world champions Germany at a recent four-nation tournament in Valencia, now have the junior World Cup beginning in Lucknow from December 8, in their sights.
With exactly a month to go, the team, barring some tweaks, appear ready, thanks to a series of good performances in the Australian Hockey League and Valencia. Add to this, the experience of Manpreet Singh and Harmanpreet Singh with the national team, the colts look a formidable force.
Harendra felt exposure had played a key role in shaping the team’s recent success. “If you go back to the 70s, Australia made frequent trips to India and Pakistan because they knew if they wanted to be the best, they had to beat the best. That’s what we’ve planned now,” he said.
