Up against holders and Olympic champions Australia in their opening match, India will have to conjure a special performance to ensure a winning start to their campaign in eight-nation 15th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament beginning in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
India coach Vasudevan Bhaskaran is aware of the importance of the tournament and is treating it as a preparatory step for the World Cup this September.
"The Azlan Shah tournament is a significant outing for every team playing the World Cup. Our target here is a podium finish. I am pretty confident that we will be able to achieve that," Bhaskaran said.
Incidentally, India last won the tournament in 1995, when Bhaskaran was the coach. They also won it in 1985.
But a podium finish this year will be an achievement for the side considering the fact that last year they finished last among six teams.
Looking ahead to the opening game against the Aussies, Bhaskaran admitted that it will be a tough encounter.
"The Australians, though without several key players, are still a strong team and they showed good form last night while beating the Koreans 6-0 in a practice match. But, then, if we can deny them early success, then half the battle is won," Bhaskaran said.
The Aussies always look to early goals that allow them to dominate the opposition. Pacy and supremely fit, the Australians also have several brilliant players to set up the game, something that the Indian camp is well aware of.
"We will be opting for a half-court press instead of emphasis on a strong build-up. But the big gamble is I am taking is to go in with just one goalkeeper, Adrian D'Souza, so that I get to utilise an additional player instead of having the second goalkeeper (Bharat Chhetri) simply sitting on the bench. This is something new, and let's see how it goes," Bhaskaran said.
So far, India's preparations for the tournament have gone well. They arrived in Kuala Lumpur a week in advance and played two practice games against New Zealand, winning both 3-2.
"I am happy to say that our team showed improvement and I especially liked the way we played last night when we came back from 0-2 to win 3-2. We played a disciplined game and did not panic even after the Kiwis scored their second goal. That is a good sign and I am hopeful of a good finish here," Bhaskaran said.
The coach was also happy with the improvement in drag-flicker Sandeep Singh's tackling and covering.
"Sandeep is a good talent, and he has shown a lot of improvement in other areas of his game. I am confident that with time he will develop into a fine all-round player and not just a drag-flick expert," he said.
Sandeep Singh had a good outing against the Kiwis last night with two penalty-corner conversions that underlined power, precision and variation.
"Obviously, he is a key player in our team," Bhaskaran pointed out.
At the moment, though, Bhaskaran refuses to look beyond the first match.
"I am taking one game at a time and, to reiterate, our big goal is the World Cup and all our efforts from here on are geared for that tournament," he said.
The eight teams, including the Netherlands, Argentina, New Zealand, Pakistan, Korea and hosts Malaysia, have been split into two groups for the preliminary league. The top two finishers in each group advance to the semi-finals.
Barring Malaysia, the rest of the teams will figure in the World Cup in Germany in September this year. As such, their performances will be keenly watched and followed.
Dutch coach Roelant Oltmans said: "Our players are coming from our domestic league championship, but our last tournament was the Champions Trophy in Chennai. So I will be happy if we can finish in the top three in Azlan Shah. But I will prefer to take one match at a time. So, let's wait and see."
The Pakistanis, mercurial as always, are without a couple of their regulars owing to injuries, but still look strong enough to win the title. They are placed in the tougher group with the Dutch and the temperamental Argentina to contend with.
All the coaches were non-committal while weighing their teams' prospects but concurred that the humid weather conditions, marked by heavy rains could be a key factor.
Pool A: Australia, India, Korea and Malaysia.
Pool B: The Netherlands, Pakistan, Argentina and New Zealand.
Sunday's matches:
0600 IST: Argentina vs New Zealand
1230 IST: Australia vs India
1430 IST: Korea vs Malaysia