Indian hockey team set to clash against New Zealand A

The Indian men's hockey team are fully geared up to take on New Zealand A team in the opening game of the away series in Auckland on Friday.

The tourists will play the first two games against New Zealand A followed by four matches to be played against the New Zealand national team.

Post winning the series against France and Spain recently during the Europe Tour, the Indian team during the present tournament intends to start their campaign on a winning note.

Speaking ahead of the clash against New Zealand A, Roelant Oltmans Director, High Performance & India Men Chief Coach said, "Every day and every game is new. We have started benchmarking ourselves and we will ensure that we go a notch higher with each game. This is important, keeping the upcoming tournaments in mind. Not every day do we have the opportunity to play big tournaments and to be in contention we have to start challenging ourselves and be our own competition. The boys are not going to take tomorrow's match lightly as it will set the tone for the upcoming matches. The team is looking good and ready to accept the Kiwi challenge."

Commenting on the team's preparation for the upcoming clash, Captain Sardar Singh stated, "It is very important to start a tour on a winning note as it gives you confidence for the rest of the matches. The team is working on the grey patches before Hockey World League Finals, so playing against New Zealand is surely going to help us in our preparations.