Rourkela, Jul 23: With the nation expecting a good show by the Indian hockey team in the London Olympics, former international Michael Kindo, is not very optimistic about its performance.
“I am at pains to say that I do not expect much from the team. Though it is undergone rigourous preparation, we have miles to go,” said Kindo, who was a member of the 1975 World Cup winning team as well as the team that won bronze at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
“I was very happy the day we qualified for the Olympics, but from there the real test started for us,” he said. Kindo added that India would face tough competitions from Germany, Holland, New Zealand and South Korea pitted in the same group as India.
“In Azlan Shah, we lost to New Zealand, though we have good outings against the Koreans. But this is a big platform and every team would give its best out of best,” said Kindo, said the former Indian defender.
On preparation and performance of the team, he said that a silver lining in recent performances is that India is holding very well and the goal margins are very thin, which on a given day might turn out in India's favour.
“Take the example of the recent three nation tournament in Europe as a preparation, where we failed in the last moment and we hold it against powerful Spain, that is what gives me confidence,” Kindo added.
When asked assess coach Michael Nobbs' performance, he said, “He (Nobbs) is doing a good job. He should be given more time with long-term planning and should not be disturbed unnecessarily.”
Regarding the blue turf controversy, the Arjun award winner said, ”I do not have much idea about the turf, even in our times the artificial one was a rarity. But, going by media reports I feel there is some problem in it. Other than our coach Nobbs, the great Ric Charlseworth has expressed his reservation against it complaining it to be slow and bouncy. Let's us wait and watch once the tournament progresses.”
