The Indian Men’s Hockey team are preparing in full flow to clinch a position on the podium at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. Looking at the Men in Blue and their recent performances, former head coach Roelant Oltmans also feels that the Indian team is one of the top five contenders to win a medal.
Ina recent podcast named ‘Hockey Te Charcha’, Oltmans pointed out how mental toughness will be the biggest factor for any team to succeed at the Olympics.
“For me, the Indian men’s Hockey team is among the top five contenders to win a medal in Tokyo. The team has shown good consistency in competing with the best teams in the world over the last two years. India has already shown they can beat teams like Australia, Belgium and the Netherlands,” said Roelant Oltmans.
“However, doing it at the Olympics will be a different matter. The decisive factor when you are trying to win such a tournament is the mentality of the team. You cannot panic if you are behind in a game or get overexcited when you are ahead. You have to be in control of each situation.”
The Dutch tactician also highlights how the humid and hot weather in Tokyo will help the Indian team to acclimatize easier than others. He added, “In terms of physical fitness all the top teams in the world are at the same level so no team has an obvious advantage, but the weather conditions will be more favourable for India as they are used to that type of climate. The weather will definitely be harsher for the European teams, and they will have to adjust to it.”
Under Oltmans the Indian team reached the quarterfinals of the Rio Olympics in 2016. He feels that the team has improved a lot since and has praised the development.
“Preparing the team to secure a medal in the Tokyo Olympics was always the main objective since I joined as High-Performance Director at Hockey India in 2013, and then became chief coach of the men’s team in 2015.”
Lastly, the Dutchman credited the overall growth of the sport and credited Hockey India and SAI for playing big roles in the development.
“India has made progress in that regard with their current standing, and Hockey India has created the conditions for this to happen through its professional setup. You need a good development plan, but you also need the resources to execute a plan. Hockey India and SAI have played a big part in creating and executing this plan to develop hockey in India,” Oltmans concluded.
