Hockey: Indian among top contenders for medal at Tokyo Olympics, says former coach Roelant Oltmans

Former head coach Roelant Oltmans has picked the Indian men’s hockey team among the medal contenders for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics in July-August.

In a conversation on Hockey Te Charcha, a podcast series initiated by Hockey India ahead of the Olympics, Oltmans emphasised that mental toughness will be a deciding factor for any team to succeed in Tokyo.

“For me, India 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,” he said.

However, Oltmans warned against needless panicking in pressure situations.

“India has already shown they can beat teams like Australia, Belgium and the Netherlands. 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,” Oltmans said.

The Dutch coach anticipates that the weather conditions in Tokyo will be another key factor.

“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…

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