NEW DELHI, July 20:
A top-four finish in the Olympics would be a “miracle” for the Indian men’s hockey team but a favourable outing in their Games opener against the mighty Netherlands on July 30 would act as a huge “confidence booster” for the eight-time champions, feels former players.
Former captain Zafar Iqbal was impressed with the improvement Indian hockey has made under Micheal Nobbs but feels it would be too premature to expect a podium finish in London.
“I don’t have high hopes of a medal, but we should at least play better hockey. We suddenly can’t expect to jump to the top league from number 10 position. If anything of this sort happens it would be a miracle,” Zafar said.
“The start will be important for us. The Netherlands has always been a strong team. So if we manage to pull off a draw, it would boost our confidence for the remaining matches,” said the former centre forward, who was a member of India’s 1980 team that won the last Olympic gold medal in Moscow.
“A place in the semi-finals would be a dream result for India but our first aim should be to finish at least third in the group,” he added.
Zafar also said that going into the Games the Indians are at par with the top teams in some areas but also have many grey areas to counter.
“In terms of ability in specific areas we are equally good like other teams. But we have many weaknesses. The defence is our major weak link,” Zafar observed.
Zafar’s views were supported by another former India captain Pargat Singh, who said that the Indians hockey fans should not expect any extraordinary result from Bharat Chetri’s men at the London Games. (PTI)
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