India’s comeback win against Netherlands in the quarterfinals of the hockey Junior Men’s World Cup on Tuesday made it the only Asian team remaining in the competition. Ahead of the semifinal against Germany, captain Uttam Singh and coach C.R. Kumar are confident of putting one across the most successful team in history.
“We have played a lot more against Germany compared to other European teams but no tournament is the same as a World Cup. We have an idea of their game. The plans are there, we now have to execute them clinically and if we do that, the result will be in our favour. That’s all we are telling the players also, just stick to the plan and go ahead confidently,” Kumar said during a media interaction on Wednesday.
Having watched Germany’s quarterfinal against defending champion Argentina closely, Kumar is aware of not only the challenges for his team but also the responsibility as the flag-bearer of Asian hockey. The pressure, Uttam said, was not a burden.
