New Delhi, Nov 20 (UNI) Midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad, who will be leading the India Men's Junior Hockey team at the upcoming FIH Odisha Hockey Men's Junior World Cup Bhubaneswar 2021, said his team will go with a mindset of a defending champion and try to achieve podium finish.
"All teams will give us a tough fight. No team can be taken easy. Because they also have put in hard work. We are defending champions and will go with this mindset in this tournament and try to achieve a podium finish," he said in a conversation on the Hockey India podcast "Hockey Pe Charcha."
Vivek also laid emphasis on his teammates taking responsibilities on their own and guiding Team India to new heights. "I always guide my teammates to own up responsibilities on their own, because giving freedom is in a way taking up responsibilities," he said.
"Also, my trademark as a captain is my calmness. A skipper should be calm, because that brings sanity in the team," he added.
Vivek also laid emphasis on asking his players to live in the present so that the team can focus on matches in hand and excel. "Once we excel, then opportunities are created to lay hands on the trophy. The future and the past are not in players' control and hence, living in the present is good. Focusing on matches on hand is good. If we do good, then you create opportunities," he said.
On the junior team's improvement since he first played with them in 2017, Vivek highlighted the team's bonding.
"The team performed better in 2018 and 2019, but in 2020, the Covid period was a period of struggle for all. But the players remained and trained together with the aim to win the title (in Bhubaneswar), and hence the unity and the bond between them has improved a lot. The structure of the team has also improved," he said.
Mentioning the names of Maninder Singh, Rahul Rajbar, and Sanjay who have improved, Vivek said, "I hope and I believe we will do well in this tournament as well."
The 21-year-old young gun who was part of India's historic Bronze medal-winning campaign at the Tokyo Olympics, recalled how he had to battle injuries early on in his career.
In 2017, Vivek led India Men's Junior team as Captain for the first time at the Sultan of Johor Cup tournament in Malaysia, where India finished in the third position. Vivek was named the 'Young Player of the Tournament' for his consistent performances.
In 2018, Vivek received a call-up to India Men's Senior Team, and now, after performing at the highest level against some of the best teams in the world in the past three years, the young hockey star will be leading India's junior team once again at the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's Junior World Cup as they look to defend the title in Bhubaneswar.
UNI BDN SHK1952