JOIN USIndian hockey team, which won the bronze medal at the Sultan Azlan cup hockey tournament in Malaysia on Sunday, returned on Monday night to a warm reception at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport.
Coach Michael Nobbs was cautious in his reaction about the team’s mixed performance in Malaysia where they failed to defend their crown.
“We need to play more matches against tougher teams,” said Nobbs on his arrival at the airport.
The team is to have a two-day selection camp in Pune on June 6 and 7 at the Balewadi Complex and there are some issues Nobbs and the selectors have to address in Pune ahead of finalising the 16-strong team for the London Games.
He conceded it was going to be a tough task to finalise the team for the Games.
“It’s going to be really tough. It would be one of the toughest things in my life. Everyone wants to be in the team for London Olympics but we can chose only 16,” Nobbs said.
“Next few weeks at the camp will be crucial. We really need to work on our attack. Even against Argentina, we reached the circle so many times but we just blew the opportunity. We got to get better. When you play top teams, you have to learn a little bit of change in style. If you don’t hit the ball then you are not going to win,” he said.