Last Update: January 15, 2023, 17:18 IST
Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey said on Sunday that India can win World This time a cup medal after a gap of 48 years but for that the home team would have to use a penalty corner.
India haven’t won a World Cup medal since winning the gold in the 1975 edition but Tirkey, one of the finest defenders of his time and former captain, said the hosts led by Graham Reid were on the podium in the ongoing mega-event at home. can stand.
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“We have fielded the Indian team to win medals this time, we want India to be on the medal table. They are playing really well at present,” Tirkey told PTI in an interview.
“But modern hockey has changed a lot. The penalty corner has become very important. When the penalty corner conversion clicks, most of the time the team wins. We have very good drag-flickers and I hope they click in the tournament.” And will win medals for India.
“(Captain) Harmanpreet Singh has been doing very well for the country as a drag-flicker, although he was not at his best against Spain. So, we are expecting India to do well in penalty corners. Fought very well against Australia in the (five-match) series, they competed very well.
Belgium is also one of the best teams in the world. But India is now in a position to fight any team in the world on a given day. it by the end of this year.
“Restarting HIL is on the main agenda of hockey. We are trying to restart it by the end of this year, we are going to find an agency to organize the league on a long term permanent basis and also the franchisee.
He also said that the World Cup to be held in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela will set the benchmark for future host countries of major tournaments.
“When the Kalinga Stadium hosted the 2018 World Cup final, I thought it was the best stadium. But when I came here, saw myself and talked to the coaches and players, it (Birsa Munda Stadium) is amazing. I think there is no stadium (better than this) in the world,” Tirkey said.
He said, ‘Obviously, if a better stadium is built than this, it will be good for hockey. With the largest stadium in the world hosting the World Cup along with the Kalinga Stadium, this World Cup will undoubtedly set the benchmark for future editions. The Munda Stadium could host training camps of the national teams as well as domestic championships in March apart from Pro League matches.
“Pro league matches will be held here in March, domestic championships for national teams and preparation for the Asian Games and Olympics.
“The Indian women’s team has qualified for the Pro League (after winning the FIH Nations Cup) and we can have an exposure tournament here. When they were forced to travel to Kolkata and Delhi to play on Astroturf surfaces.
“It was in 1989-90, I used to go to Kolkata and then Delhi to play on astroturf. Now, in Odisha alone, there are 35 AstroTurf surfaces. All the 17 blocks of Sundergarh will have astroturf surfaces. So, a lot has changed. I thank the Odisha government for this.”
“Even the village of my birth now has synthetic sand turf. Earlier we did not even have a proper hockey ground in the village. Now small children of our village can learn hockey with proper coaching. A lot has changed now.” he signed off.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)