Arjun Halappa Call For Focus Ahead Of Sultan Azlan Shah Cup

Newly appointed Indian Hockey captain Arjun Halappa has rallied his troops by stressing on the importance of focus ahead of the 20th edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. The tournament, which will be held in Ipoh, Malaysia works as a great chance for Harendra Singh’s men to test their character and credibility before what seems like a very important year of Hockey for India.

Right now, Olympic qualification is probably the main agenda on all their minds and Halappa is convinced that all the players should be completely focused on continuing their development both as an individuals and a team.

“We have believed in a system for the past two years and people have started realizing its benefits. We are playing a little bit like the Europeans with emphasis on man-to-man marking and thrust on defence where even the forwards fall back to help the defenders.

“In essence, it is a simple and basic way of playing hockey. It’s better not to bring in lot of drastic changes as our goal is to regain the Olympic berth.

While the players are all well-prepared ahead of a very competitive schedule in Ipoh, Halappa was rather cautious in his approach after hinting that the team would definitely miss the likes of Sandeep Singh and Sardar Singh. Nevertheless, their absence provides a key bit of chance for the youngsters to prove their capabilities and Halappa absolutely agrees with it.

“It is a big challenge for the youngsters and for me as the captain. I would love to guide the youngsters. Undoubtedly, the senior guys are not going to play after another five-six years.

So it is important to develop a strong back-up line, whose services can be utilized if any emergency comes up. A competitive tournament like Azlan Shah is a big stage for the youngsters to show their talent.

Anyhow, the upcoming Sultan Azlan Shah Cup will be his first major competition as a captain for the Indian Hockey team and while there were several doubts over whether he was the right man or not, Harenda reiterated that he was probably the best choice for a long-term project considering how well he communicates within the team.

“He has matured a lot as a player and stands out even among the seniors with his composed and calm presence. He has the quality to lead the side and more importantly, he is one player who gels with the youngsters easily.

India first challenge in Ipoh will be against Korea, who were voted as joint champions alongside India in last year’s edition of the tournament.