Hockey youth brigade upbeat post impressive Europe tour Junior World Cup did wonders to our confidence, says Shanglakpam Nilakanta
Source: The Sangai Express / With inputs from PTI
Imphal, August 19 2017:
Manipur boy Shanglakpam Nilakanta said winning Junior World Cup did wonders to their confidence and credit goes to Hardendra Singh .
“Sir Harendra taught us to stick to the basics and we did that.
He also deserves credit for our performance,” the mid-fielder said .
He was speaking after the impressive Europe tour that concluded recently.
India finished their five-match tour with three wins in a trot and two defeats .
Another Manipuri star, Kangujam Chinglensana scored a brace in the final match against Austria in which India won by 4-3 .
Born on 2 May 1995, Nilakanta plays as a midfielder and was part of the Indian squad that won the 2016 Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup.
He is the son of Sh Inaocha and Sh Kunjarani and belongs to Kontha Ahallup Makha Leikai in Imphal East.
Until 2011.Nilakanta played for the Posterior Hockey Academy Manipur until 2011 then he joined the Bhopal Hockey Academy .
Nilakanta was selected for the national junior team for the 2014 Sultan of Johor Cup and drafted by the Dabang Mumbai franchise of the Hockey India League .
Youth brigade upbeat
Brimming with confidence after a successful European hockey tour, India’s youth brigade unanimously expressed the experience of pla- ying under pressure at the highest level will help them in the long run .
Along with Nilakanta, forwards Gurjant Singh, Armaan Qureshi, full-back Tirkey, Varun Kumar and goalkeeper Suraj Kerkera made their debut in this tour .
Five out of this six players were part of last year’s junior World Cup winning team and the debutants conceded that the level of pressure in the senior level is very different but they wanted to make a mark on this tour .
While India fielded a young squad, all their opponents fielded their best sides as European championship is set to start from tomorrow .
Defender Tirkey feels the fact that everybody is competing for a place in the team augurs well for Indian Hockey with Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and Senior Hockey World Cup coming up next year.