Addressing a press conference a confident Delhi Waveriders captain Sardar Singh said “Our single point strategy is to play like a team. We have world’s best players who will contribute to the team’s efforts. There are lot of changes in the team this year but the objective is to not to allow opponent to come in our striking circle. Each team has its strength and weakness. We will curtail our weaknesses and play on our strengths.”
Delhi Waveriders coach Cedric D’Souza said, “There are lot of changes in the team this year but all the players are in good form. It is difficult to say which is a stronger team as we cannot take anyone lightly. Even a single loss can change the shape of the game. We cannot afford to lose any game. Punjab is a robust team too but we are good too. Let the best team win.”
Upbeat on team’s preparation for the tournament, Jaypee Punjab Warriors coach Barry Dancer said, “The first match is very important for us and we will put all efforts to win it. We lost to Delhi last year and maiden win will boost our confidence tremendously. Delhi Waveriders is in good form with very strong counter attack. Our attack will decide the game. The team has tremendous potential and has been practicing for long. Converting penalty corners will be important for us.”
“We aim to make a winning start. The team has practiced hard and is ready to take on any team. Sardar is a world class player but we have our strategy in place. We have great goal keeper and wonderful forwards who are ready to offer some of the best hockey to Mohali spectators,” S V Sunil said.
Each team consists of 14 Indian and 10 foreign players and each player will be vying for his chance to be the ‘Gaurav’ for their team this year.
This year with the addition of the sixth team – Kalinga Lancers it will be interesting to see which team emerges the winner of the second edition of HHIL. With 72 Olympians and participants of 11 countries participating, the League is surely a tough game to win.
Keeping last year’s performance in mind many hockey lovers will be keeping a close tab on Delhi Waveriders who were the runner-up of the 1st edition. Last year the Delhi team played 4 matches against Jaypee and won all of them. It will be interesting to see whether this year they will be able to keep their winning streak against them. For Jaypee Warriors it will be payback time and if they win against Delhi tomorrow it will not only boost their confidence but they will start the League on a high.
Delhi Waveriders were the favourites for the League when they qualified for the finals. In the entire League the team played 14 matches and win 10. This year under the guidance of the new coach Cedric D’Souza the team is confident on their performance and is looking forward to their first match against Jaypee Warriors.