New Delhi, 2 June 2015: Indian team is geared up for the all important FIH Hockey World League semi-finals in Belgium. Indian tales are riding high after some decent performances under new Indian coach Paul Van Ass in Azlan Shah Cup and Indo-Japan Test Series last month.

The Indian Men Hockey team is practicing hard and is gearing up for the upcoming challenge. Placed in the Pool A of the tournament the team will be seen clashing against Australia, Pakistan, France and Poland and will be aiming the Top 2 position in the Pool phase.

The team is looking forward to their matches against both Australia and Pakistan wherein with the former the Indian boys have proved to be dominant team in the recent clashes and with the latter the team will be looking at settling scores.

Speaking on the tournament and the challenges, Captain Sardar Singh said “The team is shaping out well in the last few practice sessions. Our new game plan of 10 attacking and 10 defending gives the extra boost to the mid-field position, as this will help in countering the counter attacks from the opponents. We are even working on our speed as we realize that this new strategy will work in our favor only if we keep pace with each other and not miss the vital passes.

Speaking on the challenge most awaited by the team, Sardar added “The boys are specially waiting to meet Australia and Pakistan. While playing against Australia we deliver our best hockey and playing against Pakistan is always something which we look forward to and a win against them will be very special.

FIH Hockey World League Semi-Final is scheduled from 20th June – 05 July 2015. India will be seen clashing against France at 09:30 PM IST in their opening match of the tournament on 20 June 2015. The matches will be telecasted LIVE on Star Sports.