Asia Cup: Playing attacking hockey helped India, says Harendra

Bengaluru, November 6: Harendra Singh, coach of India women's hockey team, said playing attacking hockey in the Asia Cup paid rich dividends.

India beat China in a tense shootout 5-4 to lift the Asia Cup after a gap of 13 years at Kakamigahara, Japan on Sunday (November 5). Their last win came in the 2004 edition beating Japan.

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"We have played attacking hockey here and result has been very satisfying. In the tournament, the girls scored 28 goals while conceding just five goals. It's a reflection of the all-round game we displayed," said Harendra, who took over from Sjored Marijne after the Serbian assumed the reins of India men's hockey team, even as the delight of winning a tournament in his first assignment quite obvious in his voice.

Harendra also lauded the eves for not losing their composure in some tense moments.
"They handled the pressure quite well not just in the final but in the entire tournament. The finest part is that they did not panic even when they lost possession or even when the rival teams enjoyed better possession.

"They can gain a lot of confidence out of this victory ahead some real tough competitions awaiting us. It is also a matter of pride that we qualified for the World Cup as the winners of Asia Cup," he added.