London, 21 June 2017: Inching closer to their aim of a top-two finish at the Hero Hockey World League Semi Final London 2017, the Indian Men’s Hockey team will take on Malaysia in the Quarter Final match here on Thursday. While India went down 1-3 to The Netherlands, Malaysia scored an astounding 5-1 win against China in their last Pool A match on Tuesday.

Though India are ranked higher, Chief Coach Roelant Oltmans’s men must guard themselves against complacency when they square off with Malaysia who can be a ‘tricky opponent’. Not so long ago, at the 26th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup earlier this year, Malaysia dented India’s chances of entering the summit clash with a 1-0 win. India had to settle for the Bronze with England making the Final by the virtue of goal difference. The Malaysian outfit will draw confidence from that brave encounter ahead of their face-off with India tomorrow.  “Malaysia is a good side and no opponent can be taken lightly,” emphasised Chief Coach Oltmans ahead of the encounter.

India remained unbeaten in the tournament until Tuesday, with strong wins against Scotland (4-1), Canada (3-0) and Pakistan (7-1). In the 1-3 loss against The Netherlands, India faltered at the start but staged a strong fightback with a spectacular goal by Akashdeep Singh in the second quarter which brought hope. It is also encouraging that India did not concede any goal in the third and fourth quarter. “I think we did well after a poor start. I am also pleased with the way our defence stood up to the challenge especially the goalkeepers who were probably facing the Dutch side for the first time since they came into the senior squad,” expressed Oltmans.

Other than beating China on Tuesday, Malaysia have tasted success against Korea 1-0 and have lost matches against Argentina (2-5) and England (3-7). But against India, they have often given a good contest.

It is encouraging for India that their forwards have stitched together great work in converting goals with Akashdeep Singh showcasing sublime form. He is presently the third highest goal scorer in the tournament behind Argentina’s Gonzalo Peillat (11) and England’s Sam Ward (7). He has scored five goals for the team with Harmanpreet Singh scoring three goals and Ramandeep Singh and Talwinder Singh scoring two each.

With the Indian team’s recent camp focusing on improving their efficiency in converting the 25 yards entry into successful circle entries and opportunities seems to have paid off with the team scoring a total of 15 goals from the four matches they have played. They are currently third and behind Argentina and England in terms of team goals who have scored 20 and 19, respectively. “This has been a good aspect for us with the team scoring some fantastic field goals and I am pleased with how the forwards have done so far. However, we must get better and better with each match and still there are some areas of concern such as starting well and starting consistently well. We need to play with caution and give no room for mistakes because even a little bit of complacency in the knockout stage will put us out of the tournament,” cautioned Oltmans.

In other Quarter Finals lineup, Argentina will play Pakistan, The Netherlands will take on China while hosts England will take on Canada.

On June 22, India will play the Quarter Final match against Malaysia at 20.00 hours IST.

Please find attached action pictures, schedule and pool standings of the Hero Hockey World League Semi Final, London 2017.

For live score updates, please follow http://www.fih.ch/events/match-center

Matches will be shown live on Star Sports 2 & Star Sports HD 2 as well as live streamed on Hotstar.com 

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‘National Women's Hockey League provides a platform for our top women's hockey talent to showcase their skills and compete at the highest domestic level’, says Bhola Nath Singh
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‘National Women's Hockey League provides a platform for our top women's hockey talent to showcase their skills and compete at the highest domestic level’, says Bhola Nath Singh

Hockey India Secretary General Shri Bhola Nath Singh on Thursday in a press conference held at the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Astroturf Hockey Stadium, in Ranchi spoke to reports about the importance of the much-awaited National Women’s Hockey League 2024-25. Phase 1 of the league will be held in Ranchi from 30th April to 9th May 2024, marking a historic moment for women's hockey in India. This first-of-its-kind domestic league promises to be a thrilling showcase of the nation's top female hockey talent.

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