Commonwealth Games: India begin gold quest with clash against Pakistan

Gold Coast: India’s men will open their Commonwealth Games hockey campaign against Pakistan here on Saturday, a match touted as the blockbuster showdown of the preliminary stage.

“We start favourites,” declared India coach Sjoerd Marijne here on Friday.

Marijne though was concerned about the high temperatures in Gold Coast for their Group B match.

“It’s really hot, 28-29º Celsius and we play at 2:30pm (local time), so that will be difficult circumstances. That’s why we have to stay calm for ourselves,” he said.

Also he doesn’t want his side to panic if an early goal doesn’t come along.

“If it is happening, it is good, if not then we have to be patient. Let the ball do the work.”

India’s most recent outing was at last year’s Asia Cup in Bangladesh where they won.

Here at the Games, the two south Asian rivals are placed in Pool B along with England, Wales and Malaysia.

India are favourites to advance along with England and they will aim for a strong start.

Marijne took over from compatriot Roelant Oltmans, who is interestingly now the chief coach of Pakistan after being sacked by Hockey India last year.

India boast of four penalty-corner specialists in Rupinder Pal Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar and Amit Rohidas but this particular aspect of the game has always been bit of a bother for the team.

Skipper Manpreet Singh will be at the heart of midfield, while S.V. Sunil and the power of Gurjant Singh will be expected to lead precise attacks on the opposition citadel.

The ever-reliable P.R. Sreejesh will be guarding the Indian net.