Skipper Sardar heaps praise on young stars

The Indian hockey team returned home on Monday following its silver medal finish at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia.

It was the team’s best performance since winning the title in 2010.

India, fielding an experimental squad, lost to Australia in the final but posted victories over Japan, Canada, Pakistan and Malaysia.  However, the team lost to both the sides -- Australia and New Zealand -- that will feature in the Olympics and won only against those that have not qualified for the quadrennial extravaganza.

On the plus side though, their 18 goals in the tournament were second most by any side.

‘Good experience’

"This was a good experience for youngsters, who were playing with the senior team for the first time. In particular, Harmanpreet (Singh), Surender (Kumar) and Harjeet (Singh) showed that they are capable of playing at the higher level and fit into the team perfectly," said captain Sardar Singh.

A visibly delighted coach Roelant Oltmans added: "It is a good preparation for Rio. We have identified some of our weaknesses, which a tournament like this highlights, and can now work on them extensively to make sure we can have a strong showing at the Olympics.”