We are not taking Poland lightly: Sardar Singh

Indian Men Hockey team is looking to register their second win against Poland in the Fintro Hockey World League Semi-Final 2015

New Delhi, 22 June 2015: After winning the first match in the Fintro Hockey World League Semi-Final 2015, the India Men Team is looking to register their second win against Poland, which will be played on 23 June 2015 at Antwerp, Belgium. This will be their first clash of the teams in the FIH Hockey World League and both the teams will compete against each other to earn full points from the match.

Gaining confidence from the first match, India will not take FIH Rank # 17 Poland lightly as they stunned India on a few occasions in the past and the Polish Team has some key players who have the ability to hold the opponent with a draw score-line. In the last encounter in Sydney Olympics 2000, India was leading the crucial league match by 1-0 and was almost close to seal their place in the Semi-Final, when Poland's Tomasz Cichy scored an equaliser in the dying moment and restricted India the opportunity to qualify for the Semis. That was a disheartening instance for Indian team and this time, the Sardar Singh-led national team is committed to not to give any chance to the Polish players to repeat the result.

After beating France in their first match, the Indian Team have made their presence felt in the tournament and showcased ability to play top-class hockey against the best teams of the world. Against Poland, the India national team will be relying on captain Sardar Singh who is an expert in setting game-plans during the match and initiating attacks for his forward players. Along with him, Gurbaj Singh, Dharamvir Singh, Chinglensana Singh and young Lalit Upadhyay will be creating opportunities to score maximum number of goals.

First match hero Ramandeep Singh will again take the responsibility of converting goals from the opportunities created by the midfielders. Forward players Akashdeep Singh, Nikkin Thimmaiah and Yuvraj Walmiki will also share Ramandeep's responsibility and keep the opponent's defenders busy. The defence line-up will depend on the star players such as Birendra Lakra, Manpreet Singh and young Devindar Sunil Walmiki.

Commenting on the forthcoming match against Poland, India Captain Sardar Singh said, “Poland is a good team and if they are in the Semi-Final round that means they have some quality players in their team. We can't afford to take them lightly at any moment as they are capable of turning matches in their favour. The defeat in Sydney Olympics is still fresh in many hockey players and we will not repeat the mistakes made in the match. We will continue our strategy of keeping the ball possession on our side and play aggressively till the last minute. The win against France boosted our morale and we have set our feet in Antwerp. We will play for the win only.”

Speaking ahead of the match, India Chief Coach Paul van Ass stated, “The first match was a good one for us and we will continue our form in the next match. We are not considering Poland as minnows because they have some noticeable talents who are a cause for worry for us. We will stick to our strategies of the previous match but will make some changes in the team combinations. We have some good young players and I want to give them more opportunities. Having said that, we will not give any chance to Poland to dominate the match and we are looking for a win against them.”

India will face Poland in their second match of the Fintro Hockey World League Semi-Final 2015 at 19:30 IST on the 23rd June 2015. The matches will be telecasted LIVE on Star Sports.

Match Schedule