India would look to proceed their profitable momentum after two commanding victories however they’ll ill-afford to drop their guard after they face arch-rivals Pakistan in a Pool A match of the Men’s Junior Asia Cup right here on Saturday.
India thrashed Chinese Taipei 18-0 of their opening match, earlier than beating Japan 3-1. But they’ll have their first actual check of the event within the type of a assured Pakistan who’ve additionally notched up resounding wins over Chinese Taipei (15-1) and Thailand (9-0).
India captain Uttam Singh mentioned the 2 wins had instilled a variety of confidence in his workforce however admitted that the match in opposition to Pakistan might be a “close contest”.
“We have started the tournament on a strong note and we will look to continue with the same mentality against Pakistan. Our first two wins have given us the confidence we needed to go through the tournament. Pakistan have a strong team as well and it will be a close contest,” mentioned Uttam on Friday.
Uttam mentioned India’s defence was able to going through the Pakistani assaults.
“We have a good defensive unit but Pakistan also have good attackers among their ranks. But we have faced similar challenges over the past and we are confident we will be able to restrict them from scoring goals,” mentioned Uttam.
The two groups final performed in opposition to one another within the 2015 Junior Asia Cup remaining, which India received 6-2.
Since 2011, the arch-rivals have met seven occasions within the Junior Asia Cup, with India profitable 5 occasions whereas Pakistan emerged victorious as soon as. One match led to a draw.
India head coach CR Kumar mentioned his gamers should stay calm and play to their strengths in opposition to Pakistan.
“Playing against Pakistan is always a challenge. But we have trained well and if we focus on what we have been learning over the past few months, we will be able to get a good result out of this game. We have to keep our calm and play to our strengths.” India will conclude their pool engagements with a match in opposition to Thailand on Sunday.
Source: www.thehindu.com
