Completely prepared for match against Netherlands: Harendra (Preview)

Indian hockey team chief coach Harendra Singh on Wednesday said they are completely prepared to take on the Netherlands in the quarterfinal in men's hockey world cup scheduled to be held on Thursday.

"We are prepared to solve the challenge physically and mentally. You cannot even take 25% chances in the knockout stage. You have to be prepared for the game," Singh told reporters here.

He acknowledged that both India and the Netherlands have played a similar side, but he is looking forward to making a few adjustments before they play.

With the Netherlands team saying that the crowd would put pressure on the Indian team if they fail to score, the Indian coach said the crowd would give them extra energy as they work like a 12th man.

"There is no chance that the opposition can easily be in the driving seat. The boys have tested the crowd and they know how to cope with them. The crowd have always stood with us," he added.

Indian team captain Manpreet Singh said the team has made a lot of improvements in the 2 years leading up to the world cup and will target complete control when they step on the turf for the quarterfinal.

"Indian team have improved a lot in last two years. We have improved our game. Since it is a knockout match, we will focus on creating chances to score in the next game,a said Manpreet.

--IANS

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