Bhubaneswar, Oct 31 (IANS): The Indian men's hockey team will take on a lower-ranked Russia in the men's Olympic qualifiers here on Friday. The Indian team is just two matches away from booking their tickets for the Tokyo Olympics, scheduled to be held next year.
The Manpreet Singh-led Indian men's team is seen as the clear favourite against the world no.22 Russia. Ranked fifth in the world, the Indian men are expected to have an easy outing against the Russians.
However, coach Graham Reid would know that even one bad game could demolish India's dream of making it to the Olympics and so, he possibly won't take their lower-ranked opponents lightly.
The frontline will be manned by Mandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh, SV Sunil, Ramandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay and Simranjeet Singh.
Dragflicker Rupinder Pal Singh and Birendra Lakra will as usual form the backline while the midfield will see skipper Manpreet alongwith Vivek Sagar Prasad, Nilkanata Sharma and Hardik Singh.
In recent times, the Indian men's defence has improved with the likes of Surender Kumar and junior World Cup-winning team member Harmanpreet Singh.
Ace goalkeeper PR Sreejesh will once again safeguard the nets.
Overall, an exciting contest is on cards at the Kalinga Stadium here on Friday.