India's best finish at a Champions Trophy has been a bronze medal way back in the 1982 edition, and if they manage to even repeat that and not do better, it will be considered a major stepping stone going into the Rio Olympics later in August.
But in defending champions Germany and No. 1-ranked Australia, India and the other three teams in the fray (Belgium, Great Britain and South Korea) face two serious title-contenders in London.
An unprecedented second champions trophy medal for the PR Sreejesh-led Indian team, thus, will require pulling out all stops.
"We are getting back-to-back matches in London and Spain, and that's how the schedule will be like in Rio Olympics also," Sreejesh said before the team's departure.
After the Champions Trophy in London, India will travel straight to Spain for a six-nation tournament.
"This will be a mental test for us as we play world's top four teams in London and we play the five teams we will face in Rio at the Six Nations Tournament. It will come down to how we succeed in executing the plans we have been working on at the training camp," Sreejesh, who replaces the rested Sardar Singh as captain, added.
India and Germany will open the 2016 Champions Trophy, which will be the last since 1978 as the FIH has decided to replace the tournament with another global league.
Here's all you want to know:
DATES: June 10-17, 2016
VENUE: Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, Great Britain
TEAMS: Six
FIH RANKINGS: Australia (1), Belgium (5), Germany (3), Great Britain (4), India (7), South Korea (9)
DEFENDING CHAMPIONS: Germany
FORMAT: Round-Robin. Each team plays the other once. The top two at the end of the league stage play the final and next best two (No. 3 and 4) play for the bronze medal.
FIXTURES (IST)
June 10
20:30 - GER vs IND
22:30 - BEL vs KOR
00:30 - GBR vs AUS
June 11
18:30 - GER vs BEL
20:30 - IND vs GBR
22:30 - AUS vs KOR
June 12 (Rest Day)
June 13
16:30 - KOR vs GBR
18:30 - GER vs AUS
20:30 - BEL vs IND
June 14
20:30 - IND vs KOR
22:30 - AUS vs BEL
00:30 - GBR vs GER
June 15 (Rest Day)
June 16
20:30 - AUS vs IND
22:30 - KOR vs GER
00:30 - GBR vs BEL
June 17
20:15 - 5th-6th Place
22:30 - 4th Place (Bronze)
00:45 - 2nd Place (Gold)
(Quotes Courtesy: PTI)
Comments
0 comment