International success at last years Asia Cup,a series against Argentina and a good performance at a four-nation tourney in Malaysia stand tall in the backdrop of the junior hockey teams departure to Singapore for the junior World Cup,but these are dwarfed by the considerable expectations from the 2001 winners. The hard fact India have lifted the junior World Cup only once since inception in 1979 has an obvious presence in coach AK Bansals notebook,but for now,he just wants to draw from the previous success. We have that fact in mind and with the kind of promise we have,we can obviously better it. The best thing is the key members of the team have been playing together for a considerable time. We are looking to finish at least among the finalists,but our first target is to clear the group,which has teams like Netherlands and New Zealand, Bansal told The Indian Express about the tournament starting from June 7. As he talks about his key members,skipper Diwakar Rams name invariably shoots up,but the coach avoids taking names. Hes been the highest scorer for us in almost all the tournaments that we have played of late. Hes important,but he scores only from penalties. So,the credit should also go to the other departments for creating the chances. A pusher and a stopper are important to Diwakars scoring abilities. We wont go out all attacking just because our strikers are in good touch,there still has to be a balance among all departments, Bansal said. Apart from a tough pool with Netherlands,New Zealand,Poland and Singapore Bansal has an unpredictable challenge to deal with,and the early departure is precautionary to that. The draining conditions will be difficult. The boys wouldnt have much of a problem with the temperatures as we practiced in 40-plus temperatures in Bhopal,but the high humidity levels in Malaysia and Singapore will be hard. We are leaving five days ahead of our first match so they get time to acclimatise, Bansal added. The event will be held in three stages the preliminary round consisting 20 teams,the medal round (eight teams),and then the semi-finals over a fortnight.
