Indian hockey team is considered as the favourites in the Asia Cup tournament scheduled to take place on 11th October in Dhaka. The tournament will be the beginning of a new phase in Indian hockey as it would be newly-appointed coach Sjoerd Marjine first test post the sacking of Roelant Oitmans.

It would be an arduous task for the 43-year-old Marijne to fill in the big shoes of Oltmans, who made a significant contribution to Indian hockey in his four-year tenure, lifting the Asian powerhouse from 12 to sixth in the world rankings.

The tournament will also witness the return of seasoned pros like former skipper Sardar Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Satbir Singh and SV Sunil, who has been named the vice-captain.

The last edition’s runners-up, India will be looking to a perfect start when they take on Japan in Group A opener which also features arch-rivals Pakistan and hosts Bangladesh. The Indians last played Japan in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup earlier this year where they won the encounter 4-3.

The opening match of a tournament always holds greater significance for any team and India too would be hoping for a positive start ahead of their clashes against Bangladesh and Pakistan on October 13 and 15 respectively.