Harendra Singh: India men’s team will play the hockey final at Tokyo 2020

India men’s hockey team have successfully made it into the quarterfinals of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games as they finished second in Pool A behind Australia, after winning four out of their five matches.

They started their campaign with a 3-2 win over New Zealand but suffered a 7-1 hammering at the hands of Australia. While many expected their campaign to wither away, Graham Reid’s India bounced back in some style to win their final three group games against Spain, Argentina, and Japan.

Harendra Singh, who was the coach of the Indian men’s hockey team, reiterated that the Men in Blue will win their next two knockout games and reach the finals at Tokyo 2020.

“I am pretty sure India will play in the final at Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The reason behind that is after getting hammered by Australia by 7-1, the team has bounced back like a hungry fox. They have shown massive improvement in every department after the second game. The team is hungry, super fit and playing an attacking brand of hockey with some structure. The credit goes to Graham Reid,” Singh spoke to Olympics.com ahead of the quarterfinal clash against Great Britain.

Singh explained that for India to succeed against Great Britain, they should take the initiative and dictate terms on the pitch. They also must be careful as Great Britain are known for their counterattacks, especially from their right side.

“We should not allow Great Britain to dictate the terms on pitch and be aware of their counterattack from the right. We must close down as quickly as possible, regain the ball possession as quickly as possible and be in a position to intercept,” he pointed out.

The head coach of the USA men’s hockey team has warned the team to not overcomplicate matters and look to win as many penalty corners as possible.

“Get penalty corners as much as possible as Harmanpreet Singh and Bob (Rupinder Pal Singh) are in good form. Last but not the least, they must play simple with the basics being strong,” he shared his thoughts.

When will India men's hockey team seen in action next?

India men's hockey team have qualified for their quarter-finals. They will be up against Great Britain in the quarter-finals on August 1, Sunday.