India hockey team captain Manpreet Singh said playing against 2016 Olympic medal winning teams Belgium and Germany in the Three Nations Invitational Tournament, will give them ample opportunity to assess themselves ahead of next month’s crucial Hero Hockey World League (HWL) Semi-Final.
The 18-member squad departed for Dusseldorf, Germany from the Kempegowda International Airport here in the wee hours of Monday. They had a two-week national camp at the Sports Authority of India, Bengaluru campus as part of their preparations. The three-nation tournament will begin on June 1.
“Playing top teams like Germany and Belgium will help us a lot ahead of the Hero Hockey World League Semi Final. If we play well against them, we will gain a lot of confidence and it will give us a little more time to make minor changes in our game and iron out any mistake,” stated skipper Manpreet ahead of the departure, according to a release.
“We will be able to assess our performance and get ready for the bigger challenge in London.”
Right after the Dusseldorf meet, the team will arrive in London on June 9 for the HWL Semi-Final where they will play practice matches against Olympic gold medallists Argentina and Britain before the start of the tournament.