BENGALURU: In a state of euphoria following the bronze medal show at the Paris Olympics, the members of the Indian Olympic team are gearing up for a fresh start.
The first tournament in the new Olympic cycle will be the Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) beginning in Hulunbuir City, Inner Mongolia, China, from September 8 to 18.
India, who won the previous edition in Chennai, will begin their title defence against hosts China on the inaugural day.The tournament will be India’s first outing in the post-Sreejesh era with the focus on his understudy Kishan Pathak and the goalkeepers’ line-up that includes Suraj Karkera and Karnataka’s HS Mohit.
While 21 players, who were not picked for the Paris Games, are already in a camp that began at the SAI, South Centre here last month, the Olympians from Paris, along with coach Craig Fulton, will join the camp on August 24. The camp will conclude on September 4 following which the team will head to China.
According to sources, some of the key players like strikers Mandeep Singh and Lalit Upadhyay have requested for rest and will join the national camp after the ACT. The team, which is likely to be led by regular skipper Harmanpreet Singh, will be without the services of key midfielder Hardik Singh, who is nursing a shoulder niggle.
Unlike the previous Olympic cycle, in which India hosted key tournaments like the ACT and the 2023 World Cup, the team will play fewer international tournaments at home. While the ACT will be held in China, the World Cup in 2026 will be jointly hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands in Wavre and Amstelveen.
India finished joint ninth with Argentina at the previous edition of the World Cup and coach Fulton believes playing key tournaments away from home will be a blessing in disguise for the team.
“Playing tournaments at home in India is difficult because the expectation is very high. The fans put the players on a pedestal and when the bubble bursts it’s very difficult to deal with. In the new Olympic cycle, all the major tournaments like the World Cup are outside India and it is good for the team to play without the weight of expectations from the fans,” pointed out the South African.
The first tournament in the new Olympic cycle will be the Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) beginning in Hulunbuir City, Inner Mongolia, China, from September 8 to 18.
India, who won the previous edition in Chennai, will begin their title defence against hosts China on the inaugural day.The tournament will be India’s first outing in the post-Sreejesh era with the focus on his understudy Kishan Pathak and the goalkeepers’ line-up that includes Suraj Karkera and Karnataka’s HS Mohit.
While 21 players, who were not picked for the Paris Games, are already in a camp that began at the SAI, South Centre here last month, the Olympians from Paris, along with coach Craig Fulton, will join the camp on August 24. The camp will conclude on September 4 following which the team will head to China.
According to sources, some of the key players like strikers Mandeep Singh and Lalit Upadhyay have requested for rest and will join the national camp after the ACT. The team, which is likely to be led by regular skipper Harmanpreet Singh, will be without the services of key midfielder Hardik Singh, who is nursing a shoulder niggle.
Unlike the previous Olympic cycle, in which India hosted key tournaments like the ACT and the 2023 World Cup, the team will play fewer international tournaments at home. While the ACT will be held in China, the World Cup in 2026 will be jointly hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands in Wavre and Amstelveen.
India finished joint ninth with Argentina at the previous edition of the World Cup and coach Fulton believes playing key tournaments away from home will be a blessing in disguise for the team.
“Playing tournaments at home in India is difficult because the expectation is very high. The fans put the players on a pedestal and when the bubble bursts it’s very difficult to deal with. In the new Olympic cycle, all the major tournaments like the World Cup are outside India and it is good for the team to play without the weight of expectations from the fans,” pointed out the South African.
