Asian Hockey Championship: India eye winning start against lightweight Oman

India beat Oman 7-0 in their last encounter during the Asian Games 2014

In the 2nd match of Asian Hockey Championship, Indian Hockey team led by Manpreet will lock horns with Oman at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat. Defending champions India will look to start their campaign for 5th men’s Asian Champions Trophy with a convincing performance against the hosts. India will also try to redeem their pride after a below par performance in Asian games. The Indian team was favourite to win gold in Jakarta but had to settle for a bronze after a disappointing loss to Malaysia in the semifinals.
 
India record in Asian Hockey Championship
 
India go into the tournament as the defending champions, having won the 2016 edition by defeating Pakistan 3-2 in the Final in Kuantan, Malaysia. The last edition of the tournament saw India remain undefeated as they beat Japan 10-2, drew 1-1 with South Korea, beat Pakistan 3-2, beat China 9-0 and Malaysia 2-1 in the Pool stages, while winning their Semi-Final match against South Korea 5-4 in Penalty Shootout. India had also won the inaugural edition of Asian Hockey Champions Trophy in 2011. 
 

Captains during inauguration of Asian Hockey Champions Trophy

India vs Oman head to head
 

India beat Oman 7-0 when the two teams met the last time during the Asian Games 2014, and coach Harendra Singh believes that facing the hosts will be a good test for his team ahead of other crucial round-robin matches. "We are very excited to start our campaign against the hosts Oman, who will be playing in front of their home crowd. The opening match will be a good test for us ahead of some crucial pool matches against the likes of Malaysia, Pakistan, Japan and South Korea," Harendra said.

"It is important for us to start the competition by doing the basics right and producing our best performance in order to build momentum for the upcoming fixtures."

 

Harendra Singh, Head coach, India Hockey team

India Team News
 

World No 5 India Hockey team is starting its Asian Championship journey after a dismal performance in Commonwealth Games 2018 and Asiad 2018. On both occasions India failed to win the gold despite being the favourites. India made some crucial mistakes in the dying moments in Asian Games which allowed Malaysia to score a goal and then India failed to hold their nerves in penalty shoot out. India head coach Harendra Singh feels that his team needs to keep the errors to the minimum if it has to lift the trophy again. "We know that we have a good team which is capable of defeating any country in the world, but sometimes things do not go your way. Therefore, it is important for the unit to keep focus throughout the sixty minutes and not give the opponents any chances," he said.

"We have to make sure that we have improved from the mistakes we committed at the Asian Games, and this tournament gives us the perfect opportunity to regain confidence ahead of the World Cup in Bhubaneswar. Our immediate aim is to qualify for the semi-finals of the competition and the team will work hard to achieve that." If India manage to win Asian Champions Trophy then it will be a big boost for them going into the Hockey World Cup 2018 in Odisha later this year.
 
Match 2: India vs Oman Live streaming and match details
 
Date and Day: Thursday, October 18, 2018

Time: 22:40 IST

Place: Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat
 
India vs Oman hockey match will be broadcasted on Star Sports 2 HD and Star Sports 2. Indian hockey fans can also live steam the India vs Oman Asian Champions Trophy match on digital platform Hotstar.