The Indian team at practice in Athens

The long-awaited men’s hockey competition in the Athens Olympics will start on Sunday and as usual the top contenders will be holders The Netherlands, Germany, Australia, Pakistan, India and Spain. But among these top six countries, Germany seem to be strong contenders for gold as they are slightly better prepared for the huge challenge coupled with the presence of many senior players in their ranks.

The Dutch will also be trying hard to wrest the title as another gold will help them match India’s envious record of a hattrick of golds at the Olympics. Australia are surprisingly yet to win a gold at the Olympics, though they have been very positive.

Among the other countries, India, Pakistan and Spain seem to have good chances of making it to the semi-final stage. As far as India’s prospects are concerned, undoubtedly they have been placed in a pool (B), which is relatively easy when compared to the other (pool A).

The new-look Indian team was announced last month in Dusseldorf along with the announcement of appointment of two German coaches, supported by Jagbir Singh and guided by goalkeeping coach Frank Leictre of The Netherlands.

How far these new coaches prove successful, only coming days will tell. May be the time given to these coaches is not sufficient, but I feel the Indian players definitely would have adjusted to the new system of coaching in the short period.

We have struggled in goalkeeping in recent times. India’s No.1 ’keeper Devesh Chauhan has had a lean period in all the recent tournaments but he must have improved under the specialist coach.

The skill of second goalkeeper at the senior level, Adrian D’Souza, has to be judged. I think this area will be the most important factor, which will determine India’s results to a great extent. With a new penalty corner rule in force, ’keeping has assumed all the more importance. Our deep-defender and captain Dilip Tirkey will be playing his third Olympics and he can expect good support from junior players like William Xalco and Harpal Singh.

In the mid-field, all the five players will be playing their first Olympics and most of them have not been performing at their best in the recent tournaments. If Vikram Pillay, Ignace Tirkey, Viren Rasquinha, Sandeep Singh and Arjun Hallappa play to their potential, India can go a long way. I still fail to understand how the talented and experienced Baljit Singh Saini was not included in the 16. His presence in the mid-field would have been of great help .

India’s forward line seems to be the best equipped among all the 12 teams in fray. The experience of Dhanraj Pillay and Baljit Dhillon complement the youth in Gagan Ajit Singh, Deepak Thakur and Prabhjot Singh. All these five forwards at their best can eliminate any defence. The most important game for India will be their opener against The Netherlands. (PTI)