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Nothing less than a gold will do: Lobo
A silver-medal finish in men’s hockey at the last SAF Games still hurts junior India coach Clarence Lobo, and he is adamant that this time around his team will return with a gold from Dhaka, where the 11th edition of the Games kicks off on January 29. India had lost to Pakistan 2-3 in the 2006 edition in Sri Lanka, reports Sharad Deep.
A silver-medal finish in men’s hockey at the last SAF Games still hurts junior India coach Clarence Lobo, and he is adamant that this time around his team will return with a gold from Dhaka, where the 11th edition of the Games kicks off on January 29. India had lost to Pakistan 2-3 in the 2006 edition in Sri Lanka.
“This time around, nothing less than a gold will do…I have told this to my boys,” Lobo told HT on the sidelines of the team’s preparatory camp at the Netaji Subhash SAI Regional Centre here. As India is sending its under-21 team for the event, 13 players from the Commonwealth Games core group have been drafted in the list of 37 probables.
“I think they are the future of the country, and the Dhaka Games will give an opportunity to some youngsters to stake claim for a berth in the next World Cup squad,” said Lobo.
“We are working on the double centre-forward scheme in order to tackle strong teams like Pakistan,” he said, adding that the boys would be put through heavy weight training in the next couple of weeks to improve their fitness.
Elaborating on his training methods, Lobo said he would pay special emphasis on teamwork and camaraderie. “I always try to keep a friendly atmosphere as it helps the boys play like a unit.”
