28th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2019: Indian Men’s Hockey Team won first match against Japan
~ Face the 18th Asian Games Champions in their opening tied at the 28th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2019 ~
~ Gursahibjit Singh to make International debut; replaces injured forward Gurjant Singh~
India registered a 2-0 against 18th Asian games gold medallist Japan in the opener of 28th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2019 on Saturday. This was the first match that was played in the Malaysia’s Ipoh.
India remained dominated throughout the match because of their resilient attack, structured defence and solid efforts in the midfield.
India took1-0 lead in the second quarter and Japan won their first quarter but PR Sreejesh did well to save and clear the ball ensuring India remained in the lead.
As the game approached its final stages, Japan made desperate attempts for an opening but India stayed cautions. Japan removed their goalkeeper to add an extra man in the 55th minute but the tactic backfired with India making use of the opportunity s their fine attack led to a second goal, giving India a 2-0 lead.
India’s Varun Kumar was entitled with the Man of the Match title.
The team has been plagued by a series of injuries, most recent being Gurjant Singh who returned home after fracturing his nose during a practice match, the Indian team is upbeat and confident of a show good.
"Japan, Korea and hosts Malaysia are the teams to watch out for. They are traveling with full squads and they are posing a stiff challenge for us," expressed Manpreet Singh on the eve of their opening match against Japan.
"The youngsters will need to step up their game and I believe having fresh faces can be an advantage as the possibility of them knowing much about the new comers is less. Though losing Gurjant Singh after coming here is a setback, Gursahibjit Singh who is replacing him is a talented forward and understands the requirements of senior team," added the India Skipper.
The Indian team reached Ipoh early on 18 March 2019 and have been going about their routine to get used to the humid conditions. On Thursday, the team played a practice match against hosts Malaysia and are geared up for a good start to the tournament.
India's previous outing at Sultan Azlan Shah ended with the team finishing 5th but had seen good performances by a young unit combined with a few senior players. The team had lost narrowly (2-3) to Olympic Champions Argentina in their first match, drew with England 1-1, lost to Australia (who eventually won the title) 2-4 and beat Malaysia 5-1. Though they lost 2-3 to Ireland in the round robin stage, they beat them 4-1 in the placing match.
"Youngsters have always used the platform to come up with memorable performances here and though the forwardline barring Mandeep Singh has about 12 caps between each other, we are hopeful they will soak up the pressure early on and deliver. It's important for us seniors to back all the youngsters in the team and guide them through the tournament to get the best out of them," said Manpreet.
India's most successful outings at this prestigious tournament has been in 1985, 1991, 1995, 2009 when they have won the title and in 2010, India shared the honours with South Korea. In most recent years, the Indian team settled for Silver after losing the Final in 2016 to Australia and finished third in 2017 after winning Bronze Medal match against New Zealand.
2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games
The 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games were held in Abu Dhabi, The United Arab Emirates from March 14to 21, 2019.
India clinched a total 316 medals at the Special Olympics World Games 2019. Team India has won 80 gold medals, 122 silver medals and 114 bronze medals.
NBBUI Mr. & Ms. Asia 2019
The international bodybuilding federation NBBUI brought Mr and Ms Asia 2019 on March 23, 2019 at Dr.SarvepalliRadha Krishnan Auditorium, KendriyaVidyalaya, A. P. S. Colony Road A. P. S. Colony, No. 2, New Delhi, Delhi-110010. This event would help the winnersto build up their profile on an international level on this stage.
NBBUI has organized bodybuilding and physique championships round this year. Bodyandstrength.comcovered 36thMr and Ms World NBBUI championship last year and this year as media partners with them and the feedback of competing athletes was positive. The highlight has been the NBBUI pro card for the overall champion. In the coming up show, there was an additional category of Male Muscle Model on popular demand.
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