2021 Tokyo Olympics | We have enough experience and talent to come out victorious, claims Harmanpreet Singh
Harmanpreet Singh was part of India's Bronze medal winning team at the 2018 Asian Games
Indian hockey star Harmanpreet Singh believes that they have got enough ‘experience’ and ‘talent’ in their ranks to play out a successful campaign at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Graham Reid's boys will play against Argentina, Australia, Spain, New Zealand, and Japan in the group stage in Tokyo.
The Indian men's hockey team recently completed a successful European tour, with them remaining unbeaten in the four matches that they've played, having won two and shared honours in as many times. They are currently in Argentina for a six-match tour that includes two FIH Pro League matches.
It has seen hockey star Harmanpreet admit that they are grateful to play so many matches ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics as preparation and also feels the squad has enough experience and talent to play out a successful campaign at the mega event, later this year.
"We will certainly be using this (Argentina) tour as an opportunity to gather momentum ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. Teams around the world are trying to get as much match practice before the Olympics and we are no different. We are grateful to be getting more games under our belt and need to make the most of it. To play the Olympic champions will be challenging but I believe we have the experience and the talent in our ranks to come out victorious," said Harmanpreet Singh, as reported by ANI.
The Indian hockey team was stranded at the SAI (Sports Authority of India) centre in Bengaluru during the lockdown. Even though the players were devoid of international action, the Graham Reid-coached side focused on their fitness with high-intensity body-weight training in their rooms, which according to Harmanpreet is paying off.
"We are very happy with the way the Europe tour shaped up for us. Whether in quarantine or back home, the past year we worked hard on our fitness with high-intensity body-weight training in our rooms and I'm glad it paid off. We have also worked on the tactical side of the game as well as our finishing. Hopefully, we can produce more good performances here in Argentina as well," added the Tokyo-bound player.
