India hockey coach Sjoerd Marijne and captain Manpreet Singh were much in demand after winning the Asia Cup in Dhaka on Sunday.
India remained unbeaten in the competition, its only draw coming against a tricky South Korea. The last time India won the title was in 2007, in Chennai, and had remained unbeaten back then as well.
Coach Marijne, in his first outing with the side, was satisfied. “It feels great and I am really happy. The expectations are always high, but we concentrated on our game,” Marijne told The Hindu .
The win was equally sweet for Manpreet, who won his first title as designated captain. With his maturity and calmness under pressure in a side comprising several youngsters, it needs to be remembered that Manpreet himself is just 25 years old.
“Every time there was pressure, the players stood up as a unit. That is why we had so many field goals from different players. And Harmanpreet (Singh) and Varun (Kumar) came good whenever they got chances. I had complete support from everyone, everyone contributed,” Manpreet said, even as he was being pestered for interviews.
Marijne, who took charge only a month ago, admitted it was not easy to be relaxed, especially after Malaysia pulled one back in the last 10 minutes.
“I wouldn't say I was nervous, because with the scoreline 2-1 in the last 5-6 minutes anything can happen. It was nervous excitement,” he laughed.
The bigger challenge, however, will come in December when India plays the Hockey World League Finals at home. The field will be vastly different and both Manpreet and Marijne are aware of it.
“As the highest ranked side in the tournament, we were expected to win here and so this result is in keeping with our position in Asia. That it came without some senior players is a good thing because the internal competition we have now is always good,” the coach said and was seconded by the captain.
“We know the HWL will be different and we are prepared for it. This win is great but now we will get back and regroup after a short break and get going for the next tournament. We hope to keep the momentum going and keep improving, especially since the next one year is going to be tough,” Manpreet signed off.
