Pragmatic Nobbs hopes for some luck

 Even as the cry for an Olympic medal reac­hed a crescendo, the India hockey coach Michael Nobbs chose to have a realistic take on the te­am’s chances. He said while it is not impossible to get a medal, it is going to be very tough.

He, however, hoped with a little bit of luck they will be able to cause some major upsets.

“When I first took over, I was told the target was to qualify for the Olympics. When that happened, the expectations for the medal started soaring.

While the boys have shown excellent progress in the last 12 months, we should not forget the other top teams have been preparing much in advance,” Nobbs said.

“The world’s top teams will be playing there and it will be crazy to talk of a medal. Except Australia, nobody can be predicted to have a medal.

“However, we are a very talented side. The boys need to have belief and confidence in their abilities. With a little bit of luck we can do wonders.”

The team will be heading to Europe –where they will be playing two Test-match series in France before moving on to the Spanish city of Santander, where they will play two Tests each against South Africa and Spain, before taking part in a three-nation event with Spain and Great Britain.

The expectations from the team are only rising and Nobbs smiled: “There is more pressure than we had imagined. We can only promise to do our best."