New Delhi: Michael Nobbs's team is practicing hard before the Olympic qualifiers that begins from Feb. 18 at National Stadium, New Delhi. India will play their first match against Singapore and are the favorites to win the match.

“We are training hard and things are looking good for us. There haven’t been any injury worries and the team is looking fitter than ever. I can say that we are in a good shape to qualify for the upcoming London Olympics”, said Michael Nobbs, Indian coach.

The team claims that they are not bothered about the controversy about some of the senior players who were not picked for the qualifiers. Rajpal Singh is not picked and Arjun Halappa’s name is in the list of standbys.

“We are very positive about the fact that we are going to qualify. We are playing in our home country and the crowd will support us which will be very important for us as by qualifying for the Olympics we can give Indian hockey a huge boost”, said Sandeep Singh.

On the missing players he said, “We are focusing on the team that is picked for the tournament. Everyone who is picked is a good player. The team was picked on the basis of form and fitness and I am happy with the team.”

Sandeep also mentioned that by qualifying they can revive the future of Indian hockey.

By Indian Sports News