New Delhi: India became the 10th team to qualify for the London Olympics after their emphatic win over France in the final of the Olympic qualifiers.
After the win, Indian coach Michael Nobbs said, “We achieved everything that we set out for. It’s a complete team effort and they way we have been playing we deserved a place in London. It’s a big win and I think we delivered what the nation wanted from us.”
On his coaching he said, “I would say that it was my toughest tournament as a coach. There was a lot of pressure on me going into the tournament and I hope that I have done justice to the people of India.”
On the London Olympics he said, “We have crossed one hurdle, now comes the big challenge. We will compete with the best teams in the world. Going by our current form and the momentum that we have got I would say that we have a chance there. Right now we will enjoy this win, we have five months to think about London.”
The man with the most number of goals in the tournament, Sandeep Singh said, “It is a very big win for all of us. We wanted it so badly after what happened four years ago. Before the tournament I said that my target is 12 goals, I got 16 goals in the end and I am very happy.”
On the final he said, “I tried some variations tonight and it worked. I was saving this for the final. I would like to thank my teammates as they were the one because of whom I got so many opportunities to score.”
The player of the tournament and the stand-in captain, Sardar Singh said, “We won all the matches that we played. Every player played his role perfectly; it was an honor for me to captain the side in such an important match. I hope we will carry the same momentum in the Olympics as well.”
Indian captain, Bharat Chetri said, “I knew that we were capable of achieving this result. We defeated all the teams and we wanted to do that. Before the tournament there were a lot of questions being asked about the selection and I think we have answered them.”
On the London Olympics he said, “We will not go there to participate, we will go there to win a medal for our country. We have showed to the world that we are capable of some great things.”
Vijay Malhotra, IOC acting president congratulated the team for there splendid performance and wished them his best for the London Olympics.
By Gaurav Jha
Indian Sports News
