Former India captain Viren Rasquinha has said that India may still qualify for the 2014 Hockey World Cup by winning the Asia Cup, but they will need to play much better than they did at the FIH World League Round 3 in Rotterdam recently.
“Of course, it is possible (to qualify). But I will say it is going to be very tough. It is not going to be easy at all. There are a lot of strong teams in the Asia Cup. They need to play much better than what they did at the FIH World League (Round 3),” Rasquinha was quoted as saying on Monday.
India failed to secure a direct place in the next year’s World Cup in Hague as they finished a lowly sixth in the eight-nation Rotterdam event but skipper Sardar Singh subsequently expressed confidence that they will qualify for the game’s showpiece event by winning the Asia Cup scheduled in Ipoh, Malaysia, from August 24 to September 1.
“They need to play as a team and I think our drag-flickers need to fire, because they did not do well in this tournament. There were three quality drag-flickers and they need to be performing,” Rasquinha said.