India's hockey coach Roelant Oltmans said his team’s outstanding performance at the Champions Trophy will boost its confidence to produce a better show at the Rio Olympics.
India settled for a silver medal in its best ever Champions Trophy performance after the spirited side went down 1-3 to world champion Australia in a summit clash penalty shootout in London on Friday. India’s only previous medal in the Champions Trophy was a bronze way back in 1981 at Amsterdam.
Oltmans praised his team for putting up a fine show after making its first appearance in the final of the showpiece event. “I’m delighted with my team. By all yardsticks, their performance the final was outstanding,” said Oltmans.
“I am proud of what we’ve been doing as a team. Our performance is getting better with every tournament. Any coach would be absolutely pleased with this Indian show. We’ll use the confidence gained here at the Champions Trophy to give a better display in the Olympic Games at Rio de Janeiro.”
“Look at the way the boys raised their game to play a competitive final. It was just a day after we lost 2-4 to Australia in the league match. When you play the final you want to win it. We even had our chances."
“I’m happy with the silver medal. We can live with that, but last night I was not pleased with the manner in which manner in which the shootout was conducted.”
India lodged an appeal against the decision to allow Australia to re-take the second shootout, on which no goal was scored. It held up the medal presentation ceremony and the jury had to deliberate for an hour and a half before Australia were declared winners for a record 14th time.
The Indian team is now heading to Valencia for a six-nation tournament. The Indian squad for the Olympics will be announced after the tournament.
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