Indian hockey team gears up for Asia cup

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Bhopal, May 1 (ANI): Indian Hockey team, which is preparing hard for the upcoming Asia Cup, do not want to let go their winning spirit which they gained from their win in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup after a hiatus of 13 years.

India's hockey team posted a spectacular 3-1 win over Malaysia Sultan Azlan Shah Cup on April 12, 2009.

Team coach said they would take each match on its merit and will make strategy to tackle it accordingly.

"It is very essential to win three points compared to practicing for Pakistan or Korea. Sometimes small teams like Bangladesh can also create problems for us. Like once Egypt has done. So, we will strategize match by match. Depending on whom we face in semifinal, we will decide on the strategy," said Harendra Singh, coach-in-charge.

Asia cup hockey tournament will be played from May 9 to 16 in Malaysian city of Kuantan.

Teams in the tournament have been divided into two pools with Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka in pool A and Pakistan, India, China and Bangladesh in Pool B.

Indian hockey has been on decline since the 1970s, coinciding with the game's switch to artificial turf with more emphasis on power, speed and accuracy than deft dribble. By R C Sahu(ANI)