Bangalore, May 25: A confident Indian hockey team left here for Australia to take part in the two-leg three-nation invitational tournament starting on May 28 where its much awaited face-off with Pakistan is expected to provide fireworks for the 12-day event. Led by the mercurial Dhanraj Pillay, the 20-member team took the late night flight to Singapore en route to Australia, which has fielded Australia 'A' side for the event besides its national side.
Exuding optimism, 34-year-old Pillay and chief coach Rajinder Singh said the team was confident of putting up a good show, having undergone a month-long rigorous training programme at the Sports Authority of India, south centre.
"Our morale is high. We are well prepared to face tough challenges," they said at the airport before leaving. The event would be held at Perth and Sydney. In particular, India's fixtures with Pakistan are expected to be watched keenly back home as it is the first time that they would be crossing swords after the thaw in relations between the arch-rivals following peace overtures from New Delhi.
Presence of veterans like Baljit Singh Dhillon, Baljit Singh Saini and Mukesh Kumar, besides Pillay, would definitely be of great help, believes Rajinder Singh, who was coach of the Indian junior team that won the World Cup.
The sacking of skipper Mohammed Nadeem, penalty-corner expert Sohail Abbas and another key player and left-half Mohammed Wasim, has no doubt given a jolt to Pakistan which, however, is on a high after winning the Azlan Shah Tournament in Malaysia two months ago. Rajinder Singh said while the team would not take the coming tournament lightly, the bigger game-plan was to prepare the side for the champions trophy in Holland in August and the Olympic Games in Athens next year.
India will begin their campaign with a match against Australia 'A' on May 28, while Pakistan will take on Australia the same day. Bureau Report