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Ahead of the Qualifiers for the London Olympics 2012, the Indian hockey team is confident that this time, they will surely make it to the coveted event. Putting all controversies behind, the players are determined to seal their berth for the upcoming Olympics. National hockey team coach, Michael Nobbs, is an optimistic man having full trust in his players, but at the same time, he looks to be a bit cautious in his approach.
The Indian hockey team, failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics four years back. This created a huge uproar resulting in the formation of a new administrative body and some massive changes to the squad. But the present coach believes that the players have moved on since then and are hopeful to make the headlines for all the right reasons.
Nobbs, an Aussie, wants the Indian team to adopt the Australian style of ruthless gameplay which focuses on attacking and give more exposure to the forwards. He feels that this will help India when they take on stronger teams. India has never been a poor hockey side but one thing which separated them from the European teams is the lack of physical fitness. Now, with David John as the physiologist, one can only hope that within due time the Indian players will be on par with the Europeans in physical strength.
Armed with the experience of the seniors and agility of the youngsters, the Indian men are undoubtedly the favorites in their pool before they take on Singapore on the opening day followed by some tricky fixtures against Italy, France, Canada and Poland on Feb 19, 21, 22, 24 respectively. The outing is expected to be an easy one for the Men in Blue, but Nobbs is wise enough not to get carried away.
Meanwhile, the Indian eves start their campaign against Ukraine on Feb 18. They meet Canada on the following day before they go into back-to-back matches against Poland and South Africa. Their last pool match is against Italy on Feb 24. The organizers have chosen viewer-friendly timings for the matches. While the women will play their matches at 18 hrs (IST), the men will meet their opponents at 20 hrs (IST) on every match day.
Just wait for the action to unfold on Feb 18.
