Former Hockey Player V R Raghunath Appreciates The Current Indian Team

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Arjuna Awardee V R Raghunath feels that the current Indian team backline can challenge the world’s best teams. He believes that the team is in a good shape and can excel in the Tokyo Olympics next year. Raghunath is a former Indian field hockey player and was known for his abilities as a drag flicker.

“They are very experienced and the current set of defenders have about 50-80 caps together. They know each other very well and I don’t see them having any problems even when they are put in a tough match-situation against any top team in the world. Having two top dragflickers who can play full match is an advantage for India. Both Harmanpreet and Rupinder are equally good and they have completely different execution and qualities. Having various options and combinations in drag flick is always good,” V R Raghunath told PTI.

“Plus, India has good options in Varun Kumar and Amit Rohidas who can be great support when one of the two top flickers are having a rough day. I think the team must take this period as a one year countdown, and forget everything that’s happened in the last 6-8 months. It is time to start afresh,” he added.

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Raghunath Talks About Player’s Mental Pressure Before Olympics

The 31 year old also said, “How the players cope mentally in this new scenario, how they approach every day mentally and once they start training and playing matches, how they will cope with the pressure and the results will matter a lot. Usually in the lead up to the Olympics, the last 6-8 months pass by really fast and the team must be absolutely prepared physically and mentally.”

Tokyo Olympics was supposed to be held this year but due to Coronavirus pandemic, the event has been postponed to 2021 and scheduled from 23 July to 8 August.

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