'Strong defence will win us Sultan of Johor Cup'

New Delhi: With the 5th Sultan of Johor Cup just around the corner, Vikramjit Singh is confident he and his fellow defenders will ensure that the Indian junior hockey team retains the title for the third time in a row.

The 20-year-old Vikramjit has been touted as the one of the brightest spot in the team. He has enormously contributed in building a strong defensive line along with his teammates and aims to put in his best efforts in the tournament starting from October 11 in Malaysia.

"We are confident of putting up a great show ahead in the tournament. I am excited and look forward to the upcoming challenge. I am even looking at working on how best to strengthen our defence line in order to increase the contribution towards the team," Vikramjit said in a release on Sunday.

"Also, with a strong defence line, I am confident we will not allow the opponents to break our defence chain easily. The team is working hard on closing the gaps which will allow us to take ball possession and going into counter attack."

Other defenders in the squad are Varun Kumar, vice-captain Dipsan Tirkey, Anand Lakra, and Indian international Harmanpreet Singh, who is also a talented drag-flicker.