Dhaka: Back to the best after a slow start, the defending champion and the Indian Olympic bronze medal will start as extraordinary favorites against the winner of the Asian GAMES GAMES in the semifinals of the Asian male hockey tournament here on Tuesday.
The belief of Singh-LED Manpreet must be high in the sky because they have struggled by Japan 6-0 in their last round-roundin match and came on Tuesday, India would definitely love other big victories on the route to the Clash title.
Therefore, India needs to be on guard against satisfaction because any slip-up can damage all their hard work.
India ended the Round-Robin stage of the five-country tournament at the top of the standings with 10 points, in front of Korea (6), Pakistan (5), Japan (5) and host Bangladesh (0).
But initially far from ideal for India.
Played their first tournament after their historic Tokyo Olympic campaign, Indians were held 2-2 by South Korea before turning everything with a 9-0 victory over Bangladesh, followed by a 3-1 victory over Pakistani rivals and struggled Japan .
Deputy captain Harmanpreet Singh has become a revelation not only behind but from a penalty angle too, changing two people against Japan on Sunday.
And, he will definitely pose a big threat to Japan.
The Indian midfield is also being united brilliantly by the Manpreet captain and Hardik Singh.
Forwardline Dilpreet Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Akashjdeep Singh and Shamsher Singh also shone brightly in the tournament so far, scored a good field goal.
Indians truly outperformed Japan in all the game departments in their league matches and they will observe encore in the semifinals too.
Japanese people must lift their games with leaps and limits and play out of their skin to give themselves the opportunity to register an annoyed victory.
Young Suraj Karkera has been brilliant under the bar for India, making some brilliant rescue throughout the tournament while Indian backline led by HarmanPreet is too loud, saving as many as five corners of the penalty against Japan on Sunday.
However, Indian defense will be a little more careful on Tuesday and concentrate on not acknowledging too much a penalty, which can hurt them because the past results are hardly a problem in the knockout stage match.
Slip-up or hoses in concentration can thwart Indian campaigns and damage their second consecutive action.
India has won the title along with Pakistan in the last edition in Muscat.
Meanwhile, South Korea faced Pakistan in the first semifinal on Tuesday.
ACT Hockey: Indian Favorite Favorites vs Japan in Semis
