We identified chinks in our armour and worked on them, says Lakra

India defender Amandeep Lakra on Friday said the team has identified and addressed the chinks in their armour to ensure all bases are covered before the upcoming FIH Junior Hockey World Cup in Kuala LumpurThe tournament will be held from December 5 to 16 with India starting their campaign against South Korea in a Pool C match on the opening dayWe have had a fantastic preparatory camp We identified chinks in our armour and worked on them to cover all aspects of our gameAlso ReadWhen obsession knows no boundsEach and every one of us has worked extremely hard and theres great camaraderie in the camp I will give this tournament my all and hopefully contribute significantly to winning the Junior World Cup Lakra said in a Hockey India releaseLakra said the senior mens teams bronze medalwinning outing at the Tokyo Olympics motivated him to establish himself in the sport and aim for glory The bronze ended Indias 41yearlong wait for a medal in hockey at the OlympicsI started dreaming about achieving the same milestone and upon sharing the same with my father he said that hard work was the only way I would get there Lakra saidAlso ReadIND vs AUS 1st T20I India starts the series with a dominant winHe said he was also driven to do well in the sport after watching Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey go about his job during his playing days with the national team of which he is the most capped playerAs an aspiring player I had the opportunity to meet the legendary Dilip Tirkey who told me that he used to work out for four hours a day he saidHe also advised us to be hardworking and focused in our efforts to become good players His words inspired me and I began making similar efforts I started out at Panposh Sports Academy but after my father was transferred I had to stop playingHe also stated that he is impressed by the dragflicking abilities of current India captain Harmanpreet SinghWatching him train closely here in SAI Bengaluru I get to learn a lot from him and his onfield focus and style Lakra saidRecalling the challenges he faced in his early days in the sport he added I faced a little bit of difficulty finding places to train so I started training on grass with my fatherThen I received a call informing me that I had been invited to join the SAI Centre in Bhopal as part of the Khelo India scheme in 2020 Later I returned to play in Nationals for Odisha and was chosen for the national camp based on my performanceLakra played subjunior Nationals in 2015 in Delhi and in 2016 in Manipur and made his junior Nationals debut for Odisha in 2021 at the Junior Mens National Championship in Kovilpatti Tamil Nadu where he helped his side win the bronze medalIn 2021 Lakra received a call to the junior mens national camp and he made his debut for the Indian team at the 2022 Sultan of Johor Cup where India won the gold medalThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever