Indian men's hockey captain Manpreet Singh on Tuesday said that his team will tour Belgium to prepare for the Olympic qualifiers match against Russia.
In a favourable draw, the Indian men's team was on Monday pitted against lower-ranked Russia in the final round of the Tokyo Olympics qualifiers. The men's team will play back-to-matches against Russia in Bhubaneswar on November 1 and 2 to make it to the Tokyo Games.
"First, we will play with Belgium and there is the (Olympic) qualifying round match later. We should not underestimate Russia as well because they have a very good defence. They also want to qualify for the Olympics," Manpreet told PTI here.
Eight-time Olympic champions India are ranked five in the world while the Russians are placed 22 in the FIH world rankings. India had mauled Russia 10-0 during the FIH Series Final in Bhubaneswar earlier this year.
The Indian women's team, on the other hand, has been drawn against United States of America, and the two sides will take on each other on the same dates as men's matches in Bhubaneswar.
Speaking about the preparations, the women's team captain Rani Rampal said, "Our team is very well prepared for that match. We are focusing on how to perform well. Our focus is not on the US team but on us, how better we perform."