Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts
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India have edge over Pakistan in Asian Champions Trophy: Imran
KARACHI: Mohammad Imran, the captain of the national hockey team feels that India will be better prepared for next month’s inaugural Asian Champions Trophy in Ordos, China from September 3 to 11 but the focus for the Green Shirts will still be the 2012 London Olympics.
“This Indian side is strong and experienced whereas we have almost a new look team for the tournament. India may have an edge on the basis of experience but as far as we are concerned rather than defeating India, building a balanced team for London 2012 Olympics is more important for us,” Imran said while talking to Times of India.
“We don’t have Sohail Abbas in the team. On the other hand, Indian drag flicker Sandeep Singh is making a comeback who always does well against us. Pakistan has more junior players in the team and naturally there will be added pressure on them to perform against India. India may enjoy upper hand in this particular tournament,” he said.
Senior players Sohail Abbas, Rehan Butt and goalkeeper Salman Akbar were not included in the squad for the Asian Champions trophy and according to the skipper, the absence of the seniors is a good opportunity for the other members of the team to prove their mettle.
“We want to broaden the pool before the London Olympics. This is the best chance to judge our bench strength against some quality teams. Top six Asian teams are taking part in the tournament and it will be a good exposure for our young side,” he said.
Pakistan won against India in the Azlan Shah Cup after losing four matches consecutively and the captain of the Green Shirts feels that his team can keep up their good performance.
“It is always difficult to face India on their soil. Crowd support is a major factor and we had experienced that in the World Cup and Commonwealth Games last year. But the situation is different at neutral venues,” said Imran.
“I am also confident of breaking the jinx of defeats in India. We will play differently in the upcoming Champions Trophy and in four-nation tournament. Our coach Michel Van Den Heuvel had arranged for special sessions with psychologist during the Europe tour to make us tougher mentally,” he added.
Imran was also optimistic about Pakistan’s performance at the Olympics later.
“Our preparation is well on track. We had one-month long Europe tour recently where we played against quality teams like Germany, Holland and Belgium. We will play more and more international matches in coming months. If we can manage to continue the rhythm, we will have a podium finish in London for sure,” he said.
source: Dawn news.
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