"Mindset is to play smartly, maintain that energy, plan, structure": Indian hockey skipper Harmanpreet ahead of Asia Cup

Rajgir (Bihar) [India], August 28 (ANI): Ahead of the starting of men's Asia Cup, Indian hockey skipper Harmanpreet Singh said that the mindset for the tournament will be to "play smartly" and maintain the "energy, plan and structure" well.
India will kickstart its Asia Cup hockey campaign against China on August 29. The final will be played on September 7. The Men in Blue are a prolific presence in the tournament, having won it thrice in 2003, 2007 and 2017 and finishing as runners-up five times. They are featured in Pool A alongside Japan, China and Kazakhstan.
Speaking ahead in the pre-tournament presser, Harmanpreet said, "The preparations were very good. We had a camp for a month, and then we went to Australia. We have done a lot of things that we wanted to achieve as a team. Most of the teams here are man-to-man. We played practice matches with teams like Australia. It has been very helpful for me to be a part of this tournament."
Harmanpreet said that all the teams participating are good.
"Our mindset is to make sure that we play smartly. Our energy, our plan, our structure, we need to maintain that and do well. Of course, we had the opportunity in the Pro League (to qualify for the World Cup next year). But the performance, the result was not in our favour. But this is our last chance. This is our mindset. It is going to be an important match. Our mindset is that we don't take any team lightly," he added.
Team India had a disappointing end to their FIH Pro League campaign this year in June, finishing in eighth spot out of nine teams, winning just six out of 16 matches and losing seven matches in a row, ultimately finishing with 10 losses. During this terrible run, they let their opponents score 23 goals and could score just 14 goals.
Following this, some training took place, and in August, India embarked on a four-match tour to Australia, which they lost 1-3.
The skipper vowed to apply what the team had learnt during the Pro League in this tournament.
On sessions with mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton, he said that sessions start off with talks of result.
"He gives us a tough situation. How do we answer it? How can we handle it? Everyone has different opinions. We come to one page and learn from it. This is how we vary our mindset. You have to be active because there are high chances that you are conceding or rushing for the goal. That is a crucial time. You have to be stick on it, especially in third and fourth quarter. We have focused on a lot of things," he added.
The tournament, a quadrennial event that began in 1982, also serves as a qualification event for the 2026 FIH Men's Hockey World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the Netherlands and Belgium.
The winners of the Asia Cup will earn a direct berth to the World Cup, while the teams finishing from second to sixth will advance to the FIH World Cup Qualifiers, scheduled to be held in February-March 2026.
Harmanpreet will captain an 18-member Indian men's hockey team in Rajgir. The experienced squad features stalwarts such as Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Mandeep Singh, and Amit Rohidas.
A total of eight teams will contest for the title and have been divided into two groups of four. After single-headed round-robin matches, the top two from each pool will qualify for the Super 4s, with the top two from that stage contesting the final on September 7.
India, who have won the Asia Cup title three times (2003, 2007, 2017) and finished as runners-up an astonishing five times, are in Pool A alongside Japan, the People's Republic of China, and Kazakhstan.Defending champions and record five-time winners, the Republic of Korea, headline Pool B.Asia Cup 2025 hockey: Teams and groups
Pool A: India, Japan, China, Kazakhstan
Pool B: South Korea, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Chinese Taipei. (ANI)