FIH Hockey 5s: Test of skill and fitness for India as it forays into new genre of hockey

Hockey 5s, a shorter and faster version of the traditional field hockey. The two-day event, an FIH's effort to promote the game among masses in a shorter version similar to T20 in cricket, Rugby7s and 3x3 basketball, will look to create a new genre for the game and increase its appeal among the fans. The Indian men's team will play their opening match against hosts Switzerland followed by game against Pakistan on the same day. The Indians will then face Malaysia and Poland respectively on Sunday. Indian team's skipper for the event, Gurinder Singh, said they can't wait to take the field on Saturday. "It's a great atmosphere out here. We also had good training sessions and we are fully prepared for the tournament. "We will be up against some quality teams and since the format is new, it will be a challenging task for us. It is fast-paced and we will need to adapt to the situations as quickly as possible," he said.

The nine-member squad features Pawan, Sanjay and Rabichandra Singh Moirangthem, who were part of the silver medal-winning team at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games, where the game was played in Hockey 5s format. "It will require a lot of speed and skills. We've worked on short passes, 3D skills and the structure as well. The use of perimeter boards is a new element in this format, and we will try to take advantage of it. "We have got three players in the team, who have played this format before, so their experiences have been really helpful for us in our preparations," Gurinder said. Indian vice-captain Sumit added, "It's a new format for us and we are super excited to play this version of the game. There will be high-scoring and neck-to-neck games, so our focus will be to play attacking hockey right from the start.