Asian Champions Trophy: India Takes On Korea, As Malaysia Wins Over Covid Scare (ld).

Asian Champions Trophy: India takes on Korea, as Malaysia wins over Covid Scare (Ld).

Dhaka (Dec 13th, 2012) – Olympic bronze medallist India will be back in action after their historic third place finish at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.They take on South Korea for their first match in this 6th Men’s Asian Champions Trophy.
India will defend the title that they won in Muscat with Pakistan, Oman in 2018.They are the third-time Asian Champions Trophy winner.

 Asian Champions Trophy: India Takes On Korea, As Malaysia Wins Over Covid Scare-TeluguStop.com

India’s skipper Manpreet Singh will lead the new squad.Harmanpreet Singh will serve as Harmanpreet Singh’s deputy.

The Indians are still favourites to win the title despite their new look.This is based on recent performance, which includes the fourth place finish at the Men’s Junior World Cup held in Bhubaneswar this month.

Other than India and Korea, three-time winner Pakistan and hosts Bangladesh are still in action.Asian Games gold medallists Japan is also in the mix.The semi-finals will be decided by the four top teams from each pool.

Malaysia had to pull out after one of its players tested positive for Covid during the preparation camp.

According to the regulations of the country, players and coaches were considered close friends and had to be quarantined for seven days.This effectively disrupted their preparations.

Despite the fact that the field was reduced, Indians still enter the event with different objectives.

India has won the prestigious tournament three times since it was first held in 2011.

Skipper Manpreet stressed that India must get off to a strong start in order to win another title.Korea is a strong team that can slow down our attacks.

We had drawn against Korea in the league stage at the Asia Cup 2017 in this exact venue.Hockey India released a statement saying that it was important to not get complacent with them.

Manpreet spoke out about Team India’s importance to the tournament, saying, “The tournament was quite important for us because it is our first tournament since the Tokyo Olympics.We have begun a new cycle.He said that if we do well in the beginning, our confidence will rise.”

India is giving India a chance for several young athletes to participate in this tournament.Manpreet explained why it was important for India to do well.The Men’s Asian Champions Trophy 2021 gives youngsters a chance because many of them have not been able to compete in the last two years.

This was due to the fact that the Olympics preparations were the main focus.

“The youngsters have been working hard for quite a while, and hence, they have been given a chance to prove themselves,” he added.

Some of these youngsters will be part of the Indian squad for the 2023 World Cup and the 2024 Paris World Cup as the seniors in the team are not getting any younger and the selectors will have to take a call on their continuity in the squad soon.

Apart from the temperament of the newcomers in the squad, the focus will also be on the team’s fitness as the Indian players are playing their first event after Tokyo.

Speaking on the team’s fitness levels before the start of the tournament, Manpreet said: “We are in pretty good shape.We focused a lot on our fitness at the recent camp in Bhubaneswar.

We are looking forward to seeing how the other Asian teams have shaped up over these past two years.The tournament will be a good test for our squad,” he signed off.

After the opening match against Korea on Tuesday, India will take on hosts Bangladesh on Wednesday.Their third match will be against arch-rivals Pakistan on December 17 and on December 19, they take on Asian Games Champions Japan.

The semifinals will be played on December 21 followed by the Final on December 22.

In the previous edition of this event held in Muscat, Oman, India had jointly lifted the title along with Pakistan as the Final was called off due to incessant rains.

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