By Tazeen Qureshy
Bhubaneswar: The India hockey team which arrived in the city for the upcoming Hockey World League Finals hit the ground early this morning for their first practice at the Kalinga Stadium.
The 18-member team warmed-up and practiced basic hockey skills during their two-hour practice session.
“We have worked hard during the camp and will replicate that on the ground once the tournament starts. Today, we did a bit of basic touch-ups and will soon start working on the strategy,” said Dipsan Tirkey, local lad who will play his first major tournament in front of his home crowd in the HWL Finals.
Working under a new coach Sjoerd Marijne, for whom HWL is his second assignment, Dipsan said only few changes have been made in the strategy so that the players do not face difficulties.
“There is only a slight change in the style of play and that is not at all a worry. All the players are able to properly understand their roles. So change in a coach will not affect the performance,” he said.
The India team is likely to practice in the evening hours under the floodlight as well.
Kalinga AI