Tokyo Olympics: Ex-skipper Bharat Chetri backs India's men & women teams to bag medals

Former India hockey captain and goalkeeper Bharat Chetri opined that the side relieved the much-needed motivation having just featured in the London Olympics as they had missed out in 2008. Speaking about India's disappointment in not qualifying for the 2008 Olympics, Chetri noted that he was very excited about leading the Indian team in the 2012 Olympics.

In another edition of the Flashback Series by Hockey India Chetri said "The year 2008 was a sad one for us as we could not qualify for the Olympics, so when we qualified for the 2012 Olympics, it was a great feeling. It felt really good to go for the 2012 Olympics in London."

However, the team could not get on to a good run of form and finished last in the competition. The former goalkeeper said that the Indian team had a good set of players but they could not produce the necessary performances. "We had a good team in the 2012 Olympics, but we couldn't put in the performances match after match, that were required. We played well against the Netherlands in our first match, even though we lost 2-3," said Chetri.

"We could have taken our game to the next level in the rest of the matches, but we could not do that. Once we lost the second game against New Zealand, we could not find a way to improve our game," he added.

The former captain added that things would have been slightly different if India had at least managed a draw in their first match against the Dutch team. "If we would've at least drawn our first game against the Netherlands, then things could have been different for us. If we drew that game, then our confidence would have been up. The first game was very important for us wherein we could not put in the necessary performance," he said.

2012 Games 'Big experience in my career': Chetri

Chetri then said that the 2012 Games was the biggest experience in his career, "The Olympics is the biggest event for any sportsperson. It was a big experience in my career. The best athletes from around the world participate in the Olympics and the other participants also get to watch the best of the best in action at the Games."

When asked about the current Indian men's and women's teams' chances at the Tokyo Olympics, Chetri said that both the teams have a great chance of winning a medal.

"Both the Indian men's and women's hockey teams are very good. Both the sides have put in good performances in the recent past. I think we have a great chance to stand on the podium at the Tokyo Games. The players are high on confidence, and they have been working hard on their games. The players are very fit as well," signed off Chetri.

(Image Credits: PTI/ @ChetriBharat1 - Twitter)