Oltmans eyeing Asian Games to earn direct Rio Olympics berth
24 Jan 2014 6:04 AM IST
Oltmans said the senior men’s team showed signs of improvement during the just-concluded Hockey World League Final, where the host nation led by Sardar Singh stunned Olympic champions Germany 5-4 in their classification match and also put up a good show against Belgium, though they lost the game in the closing minutes of play.’The aim would be to do good this year given the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, World Cup and Champions Trophy. The year is important for Indian hockey.
My most important priority is the Incheon Asian Games because that would act as a direct qualifier to the 2016 Rio Olympics. We are looking to get direct qualification,’ Oltmans said in an interview.
‘We put up a good show against Germany and beat them in a classification match. It’s a great morale booster. Obviously, we wanted to finish higher in the tournament but we are getting closer to our aim, which is to improve as a team. The team is adapting to the changing coaching strategies. We played some good hockey in parts in the HWL Final. We have to learn from these matches,’ he said.
India finished sixth ahead of Germany and Argentina in the HWL Final and Oltmans said his wards’ performance in the eight-nation event showed that the team was moving in the right direction.
My most important priority is the Incheon Asian Games because that would act as a direct qualifier to the 2016 Rio Olympics. We are looking to get direct qualification,’ Oltmans said in an interview.
‘We put up a good show against Germany and beat them in a classification match. It’s a great morale booster. Obviously, we wanted to finish higher in the tournament but we are getting closer to our aim, which is to improve as a team. The team is adapting to the changing coaching strategies. We played some good hockey in parts in the HWL Final. We have to learn from these matches,’ he said.
India finished sixth ahead of Germany and Argentina in the HWL Final and Oltmans said his wards’ performance in the eight-nation event showed that the team was moving in the right direction.
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