India are set to tackle Pakistan on the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday. Host skipper Harmanpreet Singh stated that the matches towards Pakistan will assist each the groups in addition to the Asian hockey. He added that the edges ought to play extra towards one another. India have already sealed their semi-final berth, whereas the destiny of Pakistan relies upon closely on their match towards the hosts. While a win will assist the guests enter the knockout stage, a loss will threat their probabilities of advancing to the subsequent stage.

“Matches are important for any team. If we play more matches together, it will surely help us and Asian hockey as a whole. But, it all depends on the situation, and I feel we should play a lot more against each other,” Harmanpreet stated throughout the press convention forward of the match.

Asked why the rivalry between the 2 sides has grow to be much less intense as in comparison with earlier occasions, Harmanpreet stated, “It (the rivalry) has become a lot more different now. Both were very good teams back then. But it’s not that we are winning easily against them (now).

“They have the identical mentality, taking part in types are identical they usually additionally play attacking hockey.”

Indian play international matches regularly and is currently ranked fourth in the world. Pakistan, on the other hand, do not play too many matches these days and they have slipped to 16th in the world. They even failed to qualify in two consecutive Olympics (2016 and 2021) and 2023 World Cup.

“We (India) are taking part in extra matches, which helps us lots. They (Pakistan) giving probabilities to kids is an effective step,” Harmanpreet said.

India have been inconsistent in terms of scoring regularly from penalty corners. However, the captain feels that there is no need to tinker with their direct-shot approach, saying it would be effective during the upcoming Asian Games.

“As far because the PC is anxious, we aren’t doing a lot variation to it and principally going for a direct shot. I feel we are able to use it throughout the Asian Games.

“It’s important for the drag-flicker to analyse the defenders rushing in. So, it’s good learning for us ahead of a major competition,” stated Harmanpreet, among the best drag-flickers on this planet.

He famous that India has been taking part in a few of its video games utilizing the half-court tactic, which appears to be working effectively. Elaborating on the identical, Harmanpreet stated that a whole lot of work was finished on the identical throughout the pre-event camp.

“We worked a lot on this (half-court) and we got quite a good result from it. We wait to counter-attack since we are well-known for it. So, I am glad that we are doing well in it, and we are continuously working on how we get better at it.

“There is all the time room for enchancment. We struggled within the opening two video games as we could not end them correctly. But we have now been clicking within the final couple of matches. We have to convert our probabilities shortly, moreover sustaining the stress on the opponent and never give away straightforward probabilities,” he said.

(With PTI Inputs)