IOB gear up to win four in a row

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All eyes will be on Indian Overseas Bank ahead of the Syed Ahmed memorial all-India hockey tournament, starting at the MRK Stadium from Friday.

IOB have never been beaten at the tournament ever since its inception but the three-time champions may not have it easy this year as the organisers have opened the door to other state teams for the first time.

IOB aren’t daunted by the prospect of retaining the title. The presence of outstation teams such as Army XI, SCR, Western Railway and Lucknow Sports Hostel, on the other hand, has fired up IOB.

The premier Chennai club head into the tournament with confidence. The champions believe that they have the requisite ingredients and the know-how to make it four in a row.

The mood in the bank camp is buoyant. IOB manager Arif Ahmed is confident that his team ready to embark on another successful journey. Arif, though, didn’t want to look too far ahead and is focused on taking one match at a time starting with their opener against Tiruchy on July 9.

“This year the competition will be tougher with the inclusion of four teams from outside Tamil Nadu. We have to work harder than we had in the past three editions to retain the title. The boys are ready for the challenging task ahead,” he said.

According to Arif, the biggest threat for IOB will come from Army XI who have already defeated the Chennai team in the final of the Kovilpatti hockey championship in May.

The final loss is still preying on his mind. “On paper Army XI look a cohesive unit and after having put paid to our hopes in the Kovilpatti final, their confidence will be sky-high.

But we are not unduly worried about the Army XI because any team that play to their potential can cause an upset in a knockout tournament. So we have to be on our toes right from the first match and shouldn’t let complacency get anywhere near us,” added Arif.

Arif is pinning his hopes on star forward Adam Sinclair to deliver the goods again as he has done ever so consistently over the years. The manager lavished praise on his attacking spearhead. “Adam is, without a doubt, our go-to man. With his wealth of experience he should be able to help us perform better. He can galvanise the whole team with his mere presence on the turf,” said Arif.

As usual, IOB will be missing the services of P.R. Sreejesh and Manpreet Singh as the duo are on national duty. Arif, however, chose to look on the brighter side and was grateful to his management for providing suitable replacements in quick time which helped the squad prepare well.

“The management was gracious in letting us sign guest players. Two of these players are from Karnataka while the other two are from Tamil Nadu. All the players that have assembled for the training camp are talented and what pleases me the most is their work ethic.

The whole squad is experienced, having played at the highest level at one time or the other. There is every reason for us to feel gung-ho about having a good run again,” Arif concluded.