Team’s mood is quite upbeat, says skipper Birendra Lakra

Birendra Lakra

The Indian men's hockey team, led by Olympic bronze medallist Birendra Lakra, on Friday left for Jakarta to defend the Asia Cup title. The Indian team will be up against Japan, Pakistan and hosts Indonesia in Pool A, while Malaysia, Korea, Oman and Bangladesh are grouped in Pool B.

India will kick off their campaign against Pakistan on Monday. "The team is definitely excited. The Asia Cup is a very prestigious tournament and we will have quite a few players, who will be experiencing this tournament for the first time so naturally the mood is quite upbeat in the team," Birendra said in a HI release.

"Our camp in SAI Bengaluru was quite tough and very fruitful. While we got to know more about each player's strengths, and improved our on-field communication, Sardar [coach] was also very particular about our fitness."

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