India to face spirited Japan in the 1st match of the 4-Match Test Series Tomorrow

–          Japan is a tough team, we are not taking them lightly – India Chief Coach Paul van Ass

–          We are here with full strength and will play our natural game – Japan Coach Keonwook Kang

Bhubaneswar, 02 May 2015: As the FIH Hockey World League Semi-Final (Men) 2015 proves to be a crucial tournament for all the hockey national teams in the world, India and Japan have started their preparation with the India-Japan Test Series in Bhubaneswar, to be contested at Kalinga Stadium on 3rd – 9th May 2015 in front of the hockey-crazy crowd.

After finishing 3rd at the 24th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup recently, the Indian team is looking to continue their form and will try-out new strategies in the Series. With a 24-member squad, Chief Coach Paul van Ass aims to utilise all the players on the field and use new team-combinations in preparation for the World League Semi-Final Round. Knowing the fact that Japan has a strong forward line and their players very skilful with speed, Indian players have started analysing their previous games and working on various strategies to tackle them. FIH Rank # 9, India has more strength than FIH Rank 16 Japan, but the host team is not taking any chance and they will utilise their full strength of the squad against the visitors. Last time the two teams met in the 2013 AHF Asian Champions Trophy in Japan, the host team defeated India by 2-1 in the tournament. The team management has called back a few young players, such as forward player Lalit Upadhyay, defender Yuvraj Walmiki and midfielder Pardeep Mor, in the senior team and have included them in their key game-plans against Japan.

On the other hand, Japan has arrived with full strength and all the senior players in their 19-member squad for the India-Japan Test Series. After finishing in the 6th position in the Incheon Asian Games 2014, the Japanese team is taking the series very seriously as they are also preparing for the FIH Hockey World League Semi-Final in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Japan will face the toughest teams of the word there and this series against India will give the ample opportunities to improve the skills of their players. However, they have not played matches against India in the last few years and due to that, they don’t know much about the Indian players and their individual styles. Japan’s first match will be the most crucial for them as they have to understand the Indian’s in a very short period of time and strategise their style according to their opponent.

Speaking after the Practice Session, India Chief Coach Paul van Ass stated: “In the present day International Hockey, you can’t take any team lightly. Once The Netherlands team lost a match against Japan, just because they took them lightly and didn’t utilise their full strength. Though they are ranked below us, the Japan team is a good team and they have been improving in the right direction. They have a very strong forward line-up and speed is their key strength. With the new South Korean coach Mr. Keonwook Kang, the Japan team has improved a lot in all areas. Being an Asian team, they are playing European style of hockey, which make them a tough opponent. We are glad that they are here to play with us and we will play competitive hockey. I am hoping for a good start against them.”

Speaking at the Practice Session at Kalinga Stadium, Japan Coach Keonwook Kang said: “This will be an important Test Series for us as we are preparing for the FIH Hockey World League Semi-Final and this series will give us good opportunities. We haven’t played against India in the last few years and we don’t know how they will play tomorrow. We have to read their game as early as possible in tomorrow’s match and draw our strategies according to that. We will start with our natural game and play with full force. India is a strong team and they have been playing good hockey in the last few years. It will be a tough contest between us and we are looking forward to it.”

The four-match Test Series between the two Asian teams will start on 3rd May 2015 at 07.00 pm, which will be telecasted LIVE on DD Sports.