New Delhi, Jul 8: Once the undisputed powerhouse of world hockey, India will return to the Olympic stage after a gap of eight years, determined not to end up as also-rans in London where they won their fourth of the eight Olympic gold medals way back in 1948.
The London Olympics provide the erstwhile champions with a golden opportunity to make up for the Beijing Games debacle in 2008, when, for the first time in the history of the game, India failed to qualify for the Olympics.
However, for a team which won its last Olympic gold in 1980 Moscow Games, the road to London has been a long, treacherous one, especially after the 2008 disaster in Santiago.
The Indians might be desperate to break their 32-year medal jinx in London, but for a side which is presently languishing at the 10th position in the world rankings, a top-six finish in the upcoming Olympics would be more than creditable and anything above that will be an icing on the cake.
No one better than India's chief coach Michael Nobbs can assess his team's performance. The Australian promptly quipped: “With a little bit of luck we can do wonders (in the Olympics).”
“A top-six finish will be a great result, but we will try to finish better.”
Looking at the competition, India will be a surprise package in London, and all credit must go to Nobbs who, just in a year's time, has tottaly transformed the team and made the players battle-ready.
