2024-07-27 10:45:09
Hockey is our national sport. Since the beginning of the modern Olympic Games, no team has achieved success like India. India has won a total of eight gold medals in hockey, of which six gold medals came consecutively. By winning the bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics, India ended its 41-year drought of medals. This time too, Olympic gold medalist Zafar Iqbal, who has been the former captain of India and has also been awarded the Padma Shri, discussed with us.
A positive mindset is very important
According to Padma Shri Zafar Iqbal, who reached the office of Navbharat Times, all the 12 teams participating in the Olympics are excellent and will enter Paris with the intention of winning medals. India’s first match is against New Zealand, the last match with them was in the World Cup held in Bhubaneswar last year. Then India lost in the penalty shootout. However, in a mega event like Olympics, the past statistics of the teams do not matter much. It is important that we play the entire match with a positive mind set and maintain our strength till the end.
India’s captain Harmanpreet Singh is one of the best penalty corner experts in the world. His and goalkeeper Sreejesh’s experience is India’s strong point. India should benefit from this.
zafar iqbal
It is necessary to win the first match
The first match is very important in any event. Our team will need extra energy and it can be got by winning the first match. Players will have to enter with the mindset that we will defeat New Zealand. Self-confidence is a must. India’s group also has strong teams like Australia and Belgium, but the good thing is that India’s initial matches are not against them. If we get past New Zealand, then Argentina and Ireland will be in front. We can secure our place for the knockouts with a win in the first three matches. If this happens, then our boys can play freely. The effort will be to stay as high as possible in the group so that in the knockouts we have to face only a slightly weaker team from the other group.
The flame must not be extinguished
The fitness and passion of the players will also play an important role in the match. It is also important to be fully fit to maintain the pace of the game. The pace of the players needs to remain the same during the first quarter and the last quarter. The flame should not be extinguished as the match progresses, the light of the flame should keep increasing. This means that fatigue should not dominate. The cure for fatigue is determination. In Tokyo too, the bronze was slipping from our hands but the boys showed passion, showed determination and created history. The same passion as in Tokyo will be needed in Paris too. If the boys have determination, then things will work out. However, I will say again that it would not be right to make any prediction right now. Still, if we make it to the semi-finals, it will be a big thing for us.
This case is a bit riskyWe have gone to this Olympics with five new players and perhaps because of this it is difficult to find the right combination. Actually we seem a bit weak in terms of backup as well. The replacements of the players are not up to the mark. Apart from all this, going with only one goalkeeper Sreejesh is also a bit risky. Although, European countries have been playing with only one goalkeeper in big tournaments, but this is new for India.