Need to improve 1-on-1 defending: Hockey coach Sjoerd Marijne

Sjoerd Marijne (right), the hockey team coach, with midfielder Chinglensana Singh

New Delhi, January 3: India men's hockey coach Sjoerd Marijne feels the boys have to work on their defending and put the pressure on their opponents as he called for a short 10-day national camp from January 4 at the Sports Authority of India here.

The team ended its 2017 with a bronze medal at the Hockey World League Final in Bhubaneswar. Manpreet Singh & Co have a busy year ahead with the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April, Hockey Champions Trophy Breda 2018 in July, the Asian Games Jakarta in August, Asian Champions Trophy in October and the much-awaited Hockey Men's World Cup in Bhubaneswar, starting November.

"Like always, the evaluation of the previous tournament needs to come from the players. That's the first thing we do when we meet for this camp. I would like to understand what their experience was of the tournament and what they think needs to improve. For me, the HWL Final in Bhubaneswar gave an insight into what is necessary to improve when we play higher-ranked teams and I certainly believe we can do better in our one-vs-one defending. In the next tour, this will be one of the key areas we would like to improve," the 43-year-old Dutchman said.

India will begin the season with the Four Nations Invitational Tournament in Tauranga and Hamilton, New Zealand which will see Belgium, Japan and the hosts in fray. The 10-day national camp will lay foundation to a testing season ahead.

"The camp will be short and we need to deal with the players who just played domestic matches. It means we need to be careful in training considering we play eight matches in New Zealand," Marijne said.

Goalkeeper Krishan B Pathak, part of the winning team of 2016 Junior Men's World Cup, finds himself in the group along with Akash Anil Chikte and Suraj Karkera who had promising outing at the Men's Asia Cup and contributed to India's success at the HWL Final. They will be joined by senior compatriot PR Sreejesh, who is vying to find top form after nearly eight months of injury break.

Nilam Sanjeep Xess, the young defender from Sundargarh, has been elevated to the senior core group. He will train alongside stalwart Sardar Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Dipsan Tirkey, Varun Kumar, Rupinder Pal Singh, Birendra Lakra, Surender Kumar and Gurinder Singh in the back line.

The line-up of midfielders remains unchanged with Manpreet Singh, Chinglensana Singh, SK Uthappa, Sumit, Kothajit Singh, Satbir Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Simranjeet Singh, Harjeet Singh in the group.

Young forward Sumit Kumar, who featured in the Indian junior men's team in 2016, has been included for the camp with seniors SV Sunil, Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Upadhyay, Gurjant Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Armaan Qureshi, Affan Yousuf and Talwinder Singh.

The 33-man core group:

Goalkeepers

1. Akash Chikte

2. Suraj Karkera

3. PR Sreejesh

4. Krishan B Pathak

Defenders

5. Harmanpreet Singh

6. Amit Rohidas

7. Dipsan Tirkey

8. Varun Kumar

9. Rupinderpal Singh