Indian hockey team will repeat CWG heroics in Asiad: Shivendra

BHOPAL: The Indian hockey team, which sprung a surprise by reaching the finals of the recently concluded Commonwealth Games (CWG), will repeat a similar feat in the upcoming Asian Games, forward Shivendra Singh said on Tuesday.

“We will reach the Asiad final,” Singh who hails from Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior district told reporters.

He said that the team will not take the South Korean and Pakistani teams lightly as they have seen India playing in the CWG.

Asked what went wrong in the CWG final where India was convincingly thrashed by Australia 0-8, Singh said though the team played with a plan, it couldn’t withstand the attacking hockey displayed by the opponents.

“After the first two goals were scored against us, the Australian team enhanced its attack. We couldn’t reply to the pressure mounting on us,” he said.

“Our team failed in the final of CWG,” he said. Singh said that the contribution of the chief coach Jose Brasa to the men’s team was praiseworthy.

Asked whether Brasa’s term should be extended, he said, “the Spaniard has just completed one year. I think it takes two years time to understand and build the team.”

Singh said he will marry former women’s player Nishi Chauhan on December 10.

“I first met her in 2002 after which love blossomed between us,” he said adding that the duo had got engaged two years ago.