India’s chief hockey coach Michael Nobbs says the London Olympics debacle is a ‘thing of the past’ as he is eyeing a new beginning for his side which is embarking on a tour Down Under for the Lanco International Super Series and the Champions Trophy.
With a young squad at his disposal, Nobbs-coached India will be venturing in their first international assignments after this year`s London Olympics, where they finished a disappointing 12th and last.
Nobbs is of the view that the London debacle will hardly have any effect on the performance of his team in the Champions Trophy, where India will make its comeback after a long gap of six years.
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“I don’t think London Olympics will be in our mind when we play in the Champions Trophy because it’s a completely new tournament and we have got a new team. What happened in London is a thing of the past. So there is no point in thinking about it. We need to look ahead,” Nobbs told PTI ahead of the team’s departure for Australia later tonight.
India will take part in the Lanco International Super Series featuring England, Australia and Pakistan at Perth from November 22 to 25 before playing in the Champions Trophy at the State Netball Hockey Centre in Melbourne from December 1 to 9.
The Australian-origin coach of the Indian hockey team, however, doesn’t have any high expectations from his wards in the upcoming tournaments and is looking at the events to rebuild the team.
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“As such we haven’t set any goals. It’s a relatively young team and our main aim would be to give the youngsters chance to settle down in the senior team. There are four youngsters in the team in Manpreet Singh, Akashdeep Singh etc. and we need to give them opportunities to play against top teams,” Nobbs said.
“We will just go out there and try to play our best hockey. The Champions Trophy is an opportunity for youngsters to play against some of the best teams in the world,” he added.