Bhubaneswar: Still enjoying the achievement of the country’s historic bronze medal winner at the Tokyo Olympics, Captain Vivek Sagar Prasad wants Junior Indian Hockey players to instill the team’s first mentality when they looked to defend their junior world cup title.
Indian holders will open their title defense against France at Pool B on the opening day of the 16 team tournaments at Kalinga Stadium here on Wednesday.
And Prasad, who is part of the Indian team who won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics earlier this year, said he had just tried to continue his experience to his junior teammate.
“We have played several training matches against the senior team.
That experience will help.
The initial match is always important in any tournament,” he said at a virtual press conference on Tuesday.
“During my stay with a senior team, I have learned some valuable lessons from a team like a big stage always becoming the first.
My job is to keep the team together and continue the Olympic experience as much as I can.” Indian man hockey head coach Graham Reid, who has worked with Juniors after guiding the country to the Olympic bronze, said his work was only to help coach BJ Karippa, who had been with young people since the last half of the year.
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“They have worked with Kariappa since the last few years in Bengaluru.
My job was to put icing on the cake but it was very difficult to do it in a short time,” he said.
“The routine is the same as seniors and juniors …
continue as many experiences as possible.
Very pleasant to watch Vivek forward his knowledge and show leadership skills.
Hopefully we can use some of that experience here.” Reid said the Junior World Cup was always a large platform to look for talents for senior parties.
“It’s natural.
I hope to get an intermediary group among the World Cup.
The tournament is a great place to find new players.” If these people show talent like some people from the 2016 Junior World Cup winner 2016, then we can say India is in a strong position in the world hockey.
This is their chance to show off their talents on the world stage, “said the Australian coach.
The Junior Hockey World Cup is always considered a stepping stone for young people who aspire to play the game at the senior level as nine players from Junior Forces 2016 representing India at the Tokyo Olympics.
‘The first team of mentality is the key to success in defending the title of Junior Hockey’ WC
