For most of India's men's hockey team members, the Rio Olympics is their debut Games and every little moment could go on to make for a lifetime memory and India coach Roelant Oltmans peps up his boys
For most of India's men's hockey team members, the Rio Olympics is their debut Games and every little moment could go on to make for a lifetime memory.
Roelant Oltmans
The team management's decision yesterday of not attending the glittering Opening Ceremony at the Maracana Stadium to remain fresh for the next day's opening match against Ireland, didn't go down well with some of the younger players.
Coach Roelant Oltmans however, quickly gauged his boys' pulse, and gave them a pep talk to cheer things up. "Coach Oltmans is brilliant when it comes to understanding us as team. It was his decision that we skip the Opening Ceremony, but he explained to us that this should not be our priority. He emphasised that we must realise we are here to do well as a hockey team and do well for our country, which is looking to us to succeed at the Games.
He said, 'so what if we miss the Opening Ceremony? We will proudly go for the Closing Ceremony after a good performance at the Games," a member of India's hockey team told mid-day from Rio yesterday. The player also went on to rubbish reports that the team was deliberately missing the Opening Ceremony as their uniform didn't fit them well.
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India hockey skipper PR Sreejesh in Christchurch, New Zealand last year. Pic/Getty Images
"At the Opening Ceremony, we have to wear suits, and we have our jackets, so that's not a problem. It's the playing kits that are not fitting us well. Some of the jerseys are really tight and it seems that we will have to make do with them at least for our first game against Ireland. Our second game is two days later (against Germany) and hopefully the new kits will arrive by then," said the player.
Can't take Ireland lightly: Sreejesh
PTI adds: Indian captain PR Sreejesh yesterday said that his team would not be taking Ireland lightly today as they could be an unpredictable opponents. "The Irish can be unpredictable. They have been doing well in the European Championships and are sturdy and fast on the ball. It won't be an easy game to win and we will need to go full force," Sreejesh said.
This will be Ireland's first Olympic appearance since 1908 where they had earned a silver medal. Hence, going by the recent record, the Indian team, ranked fifth in the FIH world rankings, should start as favourites.
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