Favourites India will take on hosts Malaysia in their first match of the 2018 Sultan of Johor Cup junior hockey tournament at Johor Bahru, Malaysia on Saturday.
India, two-time winners in 2013 and 2014, settled for bronze medal last year. This time, the team led by the talented Mandeep Mor will go for the gold medal, and a winning start in the six-team tournament will be crucial.
"It is always important to begin the tournament with a win as it boosts the confidence and motivates the team to build on their performance as the event progresses," said coach Jude Felix.
Advertisement
"But having said that, many players will also be playing their first international match and they must shake off the initial jitters to play their natural game."
In the previous edition, India had beaten Malaysia 2-1 in a closely fought round-robin match.
But in the bronze medal clash, India had improved their performance by leaps and bounds to beat the hosts convincingly by a 4-0 margin.
"Playing the hosts in the first match is never easy because of the home support. But I am confident if these boys play their natural game, we should do well," said a confident Felix.
Advertisement
After Malaysia, India will play New Zealand on Sunday and Japan on October 9 before clashing with defending champions Australia on October 10 and Great Britain on October 12.
"According to me it's never about who we play but how well we play and we will go into the tournament with the mindset to play our best hockey," Felix said.
"We have prepared well for this tournament and the players are certainly looking forward to the first match, from there on we will take one match at a time," he added.
