Courtesy: PTI/Hockey India
The coach of German men’s hockey team, Andre Henning, called the Indian players as the most skilful in the world in the exclusive interview ahead of their two-match bilateral series at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in Delhi on November 23 and 24. As a collective unit, Andre Henning also praised them as the best Indian team that he has seen in more than a decade or so, who possess speed and skill, among other qualities in their play.
Notably, in the last two Olympic Games, India and Germany have played two fantastic games of hockey in the latter stages of the tournament with medal implications on it. At the Tokyo 2020, India defeated Germany 5-4 in the bronze medal match, while in the next Olympics, at the Paris 2024, Germany returned the favour by beating India 3-2 in the semi-final, following which both teams ended up on the podium in silver and bronze medal positions respectively.
This is the best Indian team that I have seen in more than a decade: Andre Henning
During an exclusive interview with PTI, Andre Henning was all praises of the Indian players individually and collectively, while talking about how they caused the German team a lot of problems in the Olympic semi-final earlier this year. He sai, “This is the best Indian team that I have seen in more than a decade or so, and since they are tactically so strong and probably the most skillful players in the world we had a lot of problems in the semi-finals(Paris Olympics) as to how to defend against these guys with these speed and skills and other qualities, everyone has these qualities, not just three-four guys but the whole lot.”
Watch the video of Andre Henning hailing Indian men's hockey team players:
After winning the Asian Champions Trophy 2024 title in Hulunbuir, China, where they demolished all the opponents in their wake last month, this will be first-time the Indian men’s hockey team will be in action in front of their home fans after bringing home back-to-back Olympic bronze medals. India will be led by their talisman captain Harmanpreet Singh and his deputy will be Vivek Sagar Prasad against Germany, while Hardik Singh is not going to be playing these two matches as he continues to recover from a shoulder injury sustained at the Olympic Games.
