India likely to have it easy in World League

In the build-up week to the Hockey World League (HWL) the Indian men’s team preferred to relax a bit, indicating they were not unduly concerned about the challenge from competing teams in the weeklong tournament in the Capital.

In the build-up week to the Hockey World League (HWL) the Indian men’s team preferred to relax a bit, indicating they were not unduly concerned about the challenge from competing teams in the weeklong tournament in the Capital.

Despite the fact that the international hockey federation sanctioned competition offers a passage to Round 3 of the HWL, and subsequently a berth in the 2014 World Cup, India began their preparatory camp in a laidback manner, with only a handful of players coming on the first day of the camp. India’s chief coach, Michael Nobbs, too had acknowledged that his team would not face any challenge.

It was obvious that after the grind of the Hockey India League, the top players — many of who are in the national team — wanted a break. But, by skipping training they hinted that they were confident of an easy passage to the next round.