Asian Champions Trophy Hockey: India eves aim bright start against Thailand

The
tournament
marks
the
team’s
first
outing
after
missing
a
bronze
medal
by
a
whisker
in
the
Tokyo
Olympics.
India
had
won
the
ACT
title
in
2016
before
finishing
runners-up
to
tournament
hosts
Korea
in
the
same
city
in
the
2018
edition.

Captain
and
goalkeeper
Savita
said
her
team
is
geared
up
for
the
challenge.

“The
team’s
focus
right
now
is
to
make
a
good
start.
This
is
our
first
international
outing
after
the
Olympics
and
playing
the
first
match
will
always
create
some
butterflies
in
the
stomach,”
Savita
said
ahead
of
the
opening
match.

China,
Korea,
Japan
and
Malaysia
are
the
other
teams
in
the
single-pool
competition.

Talking
about
the
other
opponents,
Savita
said,
“We
are
looking
forward
to
a
tough
challenge
from
hosts
Korea
and
surely
we
cannot
under
estimate
China
or
Japan
who
are
Asian
Games
Gold
medalists.

“After
arriving
here,
we
went
through
some
good
practice
sessions
on
the
pitch
here
to
get
acclimatized.
It
is
a
beautiful
facility
and
we
are
not
new
to
the
conditions
in
this
pitch.
Weather
is
quite
cold
and
getting
used
to
this
could
be
a
bit
of
a
challenge
initially,”
she
said.

Savita
also
highlighted
the
importance
of
this
tournament
ahead
of
a
busy
schedule
next
year
when
they
will
defend
the
Asia
Cup
and
also
vie
for
the
top
spot
in
the
Asian
Games
to
ensure
they
book
a
berth
for
the
Paris
Olympics.

India
play
Malaysia
in
their
second
match
on
December
6
before
facing
hosts
and
defending
champions
Korea
two
days
later.
They
play
China
on
December
9
and
Japan
on
December
11.
The
final
will
take
place
on
December
12
between
the
top
two
teams
in
the
pool.