Indian men's hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh said it's time to move on from the euphoria of a second successive Olympic bronze medal if the side desires to retain its Asian Champions Trophy title in Hulunbuir, China this month. (More Hockey News)
"With a brief break after the Paris Olympics, the team is ready to take on the best hockey playing nations in Asia and prove its mettle.
"We had a good outing in Paris but hockey is a very ဣclose game, we cannot rest on our laurels," the skipper said before leaving 𒅌for China in the early hours on Tuesday.
"The aim will be to play high-octan💦e hockey an💮d retain our title."
Besides India, the Asian Champions𒀰 Trophy will feature K💮orea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Japan and hosts China.
India will begin their campaign aga༺inst China on September 8, followed by a match against Japan on September 9.
After a one-day break, India will take on M🌠alaysia on September 11, followed by Korea on September 12 and arch-rivals Pakistan on September 14.
The top four teams will advance to the 𒀰semifinals slated for September 16, with final scheduled for Septe✃mber 17.
India are the most successful team in the tournament with f𝓡our titles, followed by Pakistan (3).
India won the last edition in Chennai, beating Malaysia🐭 4-3 iꦉn the final.
Vice captain Vivek Sagar Prasad said the side has a few new players in the team this time around♔, who have immense potential and are eager to perform.
"We will do our bes♔t to create a nurturing environment for them on 𓆉the way to our title defence," he said.
