Birendra, Dipsan, Amit hoping to put up a good show in front of home crowd at HWL Final

Bengaluru, November 21: Odisha players Birendra Lakra, Amit Rohidas and Dipsan Tirkey, part of the Indian men's hockey squad, hope to turn in a good performance in front of their home crowd at the Hockey World League Final, which gets underway in Bhubaneswar from December 1.

"There will always be a little bit of pressure at a big event like this where we are playing the top seven teams of the world," defender Lakra, returning from injury to the 18-man squad, said at the SAI Centre here. "But I am excited and eagerly awaiting to play in front of my home crowd. I am expecting many of my friends and family to come watch our matches. People are crazy about hockey in Odisha and the support we enjoy in Bhubaneswar always makes this a special venue for the Indian team." He last played for India during the Australian Tour in December 2016.

Local lad Amit Rohidas is determined & charged up for the Odisha Men’s #HWL2017 Final in Bhubaneswar. Cheer for him & Team India as they gear up to battle the best in the business in this mega event.
Online Tickets: https://t.co/SvKZVhoHOi
Outlet details: https://t.co/1nsIQWZteN pic.twitter.com/rYx3Q2htLC

— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) November 21, 2017

For Tirkey, who won the Junior World Cup last year in Lucknow, it will be the first time he will play an international game in front of his home crowd. "This is the first time we will be playing for the Indian Team in front of our home crowd in Odisha," expressed the 19-year-old Tirkey.

"We have played plenty of HIL matches in Kalinga Stadium but of course this is a different platform and we want to do well," added defender and drag-flicker Rohidas, who was impressive in the Hero Asia Cup campaign.

Excitement apart, playing top teams like Australia, Germany and England in the Group Stage will need nerves of steel. But Rohidas, who has 35 international caps and Tirkey with 12 international caps, are prepared for the challenge. "Our coach Sjoerd Marijne has had one-on-one talks with us on mental preparation for this tournament. We are aware of our individual duties for the team and our focus is to execute the team's strategies without letting pressure of expectations affect us," said an assertive Tirkey.

That the two will play alongside Lakra in the backline, who has remained a constant support, is comforting for them. "It is not just Biru (Birendra) but seniors like SV Sunil, Manpreet Singh, Rupinderpal Singh have all been extremely encouraging and guide us in every session. As a team, we have worked very hard for this tournament and the fact that we did well in Belgium as well as the Asia Cup is a motivating factor to achieve good results in the Hockey World League Final," said Rohidas.

The Indian team will depart for Bhubaneswar on Wednesday (November 22). India open their campaign against defending champions Australia on December 1 at 7.30 pm.

Source: Hockey India