ushma87star
Par 100 posts (V.I.P)
Hockey coach Joaquim Carvalho believes that Indian men have the talent to excel at 2008 Beijing Games and the Champions Challenge tournament here would be the first step in the long journey towards regaining Olympic glory.
"Our main goal in the immediate future is to qualify for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Our team has the talent and potential and if we perform to our ability, then anything is possible," Carvalho said on the eve of the six-nation event.
However, Carvalho reiterated that the focus presently is on doing well and winning the Champions Challenge. "We need to take one step at a time and so, our focus now is fully on this tournament," Carvalho said.
A sense of quiet confidence pervades the Indian team and underlining the mood was Carvalho. Having replaced Vasudevan Baskaran earlier this year in the wake of the disastrous 2006 World Cup campaign, Carvalho felt that his team was in good shape to take on the challenge here.
"The 10-day training stint in Germany before we came here was extremely helpful," he said. "We played four practice games against local clubs and won them all. That has put the players in good frame of mind. We made a few changes after the Azlan Shah tournament and I feel, the team is much stronger now than we were in Ipoh."
The eight-nation Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tournament in Ipoh, Malaysia, was the first international outing for India and Carvalho.
A bronze medal behind Australia and Malaysia signaled a revival in fortunes for Indian hockey that was written off after the World Cup. Though the 1-0 semi-final defeat to a young and inexperienced Malaysia in Ipoh still rankles, Carvalho confessed that the overall performance of the team did exceed his expectations.
"Honestly, I was rather unsure how things would pan out in Ipoh. After all, it was my first tournament as the Indian coach and so it was for the young team. But now, I am feeling far more confident, especially after the way we played in the practice games in Germany earlier this month," he said.
"Our main goal in the immediate future is to qualify for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Our team has the talent and potential and if we perform to our ability, then anything is possible," Carvalho said on the eve of the six-nation event.
However, Carvalho reiterated that the focus presently is on doing well and winning the Champions Challenge. "We need to take one step at a time and so, our focus now is fully on this tournament," Carvalho said.
A sense of quiet confidence pervades the Indian team and underlining the mood was Carvalho. Having replaced Vasudevan Baskaran earlier this year in the wake of the disastrous 2006 World Cup campaign, Carvalho felt that his team was in good shape to take on the challenge here.
"The 10-day training stint in Germany before we came here was extremely helpful," he said. "We played four practice games against local clubs and won them all. That has put the players in good frame of mind. We made a few changes after the Azlan Shah tournament and I feel, the team is much stronger now than we were in Ipoh."
The eight-nation Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tournament in Ipoh, Malaysia, was the first international outing for India and Carvalho.
A bronze medal behind Australia and Malaysia signaled a revival in fortunes for Indian hockey that was written off after the World Cup. Though the 1-0 semi-final defeat to a young and inexperienced Malaysia in Ipoh still rankles, Carvalho confessed that the overall performance of the team did exceed his expectations.
"Honestly, I was rather unsure how things would pan out in Ipoh. After all, it was my first tournament as the Indian coach and so it was for the young team. But now, I am feeling far more confident, especially after the way we played in the practice games in Germany earlier this month," he said.