'Aim to defend our Johor Cup title'

The Indian junior hockey team, inspired by the gold-medal winning performance of the senior national team in the Incheon Asian Games, will aim to retain the Sultan of Johor Cup trophy in Malaysia Oct 12-19, coach Harendra Singh said Wednesday.

The under-21 team is scheduled to leave for Malaysia Thursday to take part in the fourth edition of the only invitational junior hockey competition played at international level. India defeated Malaysia to win the tournament in 2013.

"We are preparing in the right direction for the tournament and the players are very much prepared. Our aim is to play good hockey and utilise all the opportunities we avail during matches. As our senior team have bagged gold in 2014 Asian Games, the young players are motivated and also want to achieve a similar feat in the upcoming tournament," said Harendra.

"We are the defending champions and have set new targets, working day and night to achieve those targets."

The fourth edition of the tournament will see six teams clashing for the title - Australia, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan and Great Britain - with matches to be played at Taman Daya Hockey Stadium at Johor Bahru.

The team conducted their practice at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here and captain Harjeet Singh was upbeat that the techniques and strategies practiced at the tune-up sessions will help them retain the title.

"Our team is upbeat at the moment and we are looking forward to retaining the title. We have been working on our techniques and strategies for the past few months and are confident of implementing those strategies on the ground," Harjeet said.

"The coaches have been guiding us and helping us in improving all aspects of the game. We are also inspired by our senior team and want to bring home the trophy as an acknowledgement to the pride they have brought to the country."