Indian Hockey Vice-Captain exudes optimism ahead of World Cup

New Delhi [India], Nov 18 (ANI): Ahead of Men's Hockey World Cup, the Indian team's vice-captain Chinglensana Singh Kangujam on Sunday stated that now is the time to do away with the bitterness of the past performances by doing well at the upcoming prestigious event.
"The past three months, in particular, have been very challenging for us with the training intensifying as it is important for us to peak at the Men's Hockey World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018," Kangujam said.
Playing in the midfield alongside skipper Manpreet Singh and youngsters Sumit and Nilakanta Sharma, Chinglensana exuded confidence in his team's potential.
"Every single player has worked tremendously hard and it is now time to convert all that into good results. I believe the Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018 will be a battle of mental strength as much as it is going to be about fitness and team strategies," he said.
"It is an advantage that almost everyone in the team has the experience of playing top-quality matches in the Kalinga Stadium during the Hockey India League," the Manipur-born hockey player added.
Kangujam, who is on his 199 international caps for India, is slated to complete a milestone of playing 200 matches on the opening day of India's campaign on November 28 against South Africa.
Reflecting on the same, Kangujam said, "Yes, if everything goes right, I will be playing my milestone match in front of our home crowd and there is no better feeling than completing 200 matches for India in front of the fantastic Bhubaneswar crowd. It is one of my favourite venues in the world. I am looking forward to it and we are all eager to make a positive start."
Following is the Indian men's team for the tournament:
Goalkeepers: P R Sreejesh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak
Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh, Birendra Lakra, Varun Kumar, Kothajit Singh Khadangbam, Surender Kumar, Amit Rohidas
Midfielders: Manpreet Singh (C), Chinglensana Singh Kangujam (VC), Nilakanta Sharma, Hardik Singh, Sumit
Forwards: Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Simranjeet Singh
The Hockey World Cup is slated to be held from November 28 to December 16 in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. (ANI)