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Sreejesh simmers down ahead of Indo-Pak clash

Indian captain, P R Sreejesh is keen that his players play it cool in the Asian Champions Trophy’s key encounter against arch sub-continental hockey rivals, Pakistan on Sunday.

Seeking to cool the nerves of his players, Sreejesh says the Indian team has set sights on winning the Asian Champions Trophy title and the preliminary league fixture against Pakistan is just one of those games.

"Pakistan is just one of the teams in the tournament. We are right now looking for three points from Saturday s match against South Korea," said Sreejesh as he prepares for two key matches against former Asian champions South Korea and sub-continental hockey rivals Pakistan on successive days. "Pressure could build up on the players from back home, so I have advised the players to focus on the match here and try to stay away even from the social media," Sreejesh said as he downplayed the recent political tension between the two countries.

However, Sreejesh had made a contrasting comment following the Uri terror attack in September.

"India-Pakistan match brings a lot of excitement to the table. We want to give hundred per cent. We don't want to disappoint our soldiers by losing, especially when they sacrifice their lives in the exchange of fire at the borders," Sreejesh said. Pakistan came into this tournament as the defending champions, but suffered a shock 2-4 defeat by hosts Malaysia in the opening fixture on Thursday, 
while India launched their campaign with a rousing 10-2 victory over Japan.
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