India using Azlan Shah Cup to develop junior players: Nobbs

India's chief hockey coach Michael Nobbs does not have high expectations from his squad in the upcoming Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia but said that the tournament would serve as an ideal platform for identifying players for the Junior World Cup scheduled later this year.
With an aim to build a strong reserve pool, India has fielded its development squad for the Azlan Shah Cup and rested six of its senior players, including regular skipper Sardar Singh.
And Nobbs said the main idea behind the decision to field an under-strength team was to prepare the youngsters for the FIH Junior World Cup to be held in India later this year.

"We had some objectives in mind when we selected the team for the Azlan Shah Cup. Our main aim is to build a strong team for the Junior World Cup, and we can achieve that only by giving as much international exposure as possible to the junior players," Nobbs told PTI before leaving for Ipoh, Malaysia.
"It is also a good opportunity to draft in some junior players as they are the future of Indian hockey. It will also create a healthy competition for places in the team.
"Mandeep's (Singh) performance in the Hockey World League is a prime example of the fact that junior players need development. Mandeep found international hockey lot tougher than Hockey India League. He has got talent but require development," he said.

Nobbs said junior team coach Baljit Saini will also be accompanying the team for the Azlan Shah Cup.
Nobbs said with a long season ahead, it was also imperative to give rest to some of the already-exhausted senior players.
"The other objective behind the decision to send the development team was to give rest to some senior players, who are either exhausted or are carrying injuries, because we have a busy schedule ahead," the Australian insisted.