Former Maratha PHL player, Dwyer says Kookaburras will have the edge in tonight's game as he has passed on ll the inside information on indian players to his teammates
Former Maratha PHL player, Dwyer says Kookaburras will have the edge in tonight's game as he has passed on ll the inside information on indian players to his teammates
Australia striker Jamie Dwyer knows a thing or two about India, having been here earlier for the 2005 Champions Trophy and 2007 Premier Hockey League. While that may not seem to be such a bad thing, it could well spell doom for India as they take on the Aussies in their second Pool B clash of the FIH World Cup here today.
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The three-time (2004, 2007, 2009) FIH Player Of The Year played for Maratha Warriors in the now defunct PHL and gained a lot in terms of experience in his first ever stint with the Indian domestic scene.
"The PHL was a wonderful experience. I played closely with most of the Indian national players and learnt so much about their technique and style which is so much different from ours. I also made quite a few friends among the Indians. There's a lot of passion in Indian hockey and that's what makes playing here so exciting.
For me, personally it's easily one of the best places in the world to play hockey and I simply love coming here again and again," Dwyer told MiD DAY at the National Stadium on Sunday.
However the problem for Rajpal Singh's Men in Blue lies in the fact that Dwyer has passed on all that information to his Kookaburra teammates, which now makes them strong favourites to upset the in-form Indians tonight.
"I've obviously given as much information as possible about the Indian players I know to my teammates and they have gained a lot from this. We are ready to take on the Indians next," Dwyer said even as he refused to name any of his 'close Indian friends'.
The Australians however have started poorly, suffering a 2-3 shock defeat to England in their World Cup opener on Sunday. "This only goes to show how well each of the teams have prepared for this all-important tournament," the 30-year-old 2004 Athens Olympics gold medal winner said.
The Australians failed in their penalty corner conversion against the English while the Indians converted three of the five they received against Pakistan on Sunday. Dwyer is aware that this could go against his team. "We didn't do too well in our PCs against England while the Indians have multiple options in that department.
Obviously that's an area of concern for us but we are working hard on that frontu00a0 and I'm sure we will get our act together in time for the India game," he said.u00a0u00a0
Australia have been performing well since their silver medal finish in the last edition of the tournament in 2006 in Monchengladbach, Germany. They won the 2008 and 2009 editions of the Champions Trophy. They were being touted as favourites to win here before the defeat against England.
And Dwyer does not want to think too far ahead now. "Only India is on our mind and hopefully we can put it across them," he signed off.
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