Aiming to gain in confidence before the Olympic Games, the Indian hockey team will be eyeing a podium finish in the Champions Trophy, beginning with a clash against Olympic gold-medallists Germany here on Friday.
On seven occasions thereafter, India have been edged away from the podium as they lost crucial bronze-medal encounters. The last two Champions Trophy events in 2012 (Melbourne)and 2014 (Bhubaneswar) feature among the seven fourth-place finishes that left Indian fans dejected.
"A podium finish is a realistic target we're chasing here at this Champions Trophy," said coach Roelant Oltmans as the Indian team went through its training regimen ahead of the German encounter.
Returning to the Olympic Park in london also provides India a chance to erase the unhappy memories of the last-place finish in the 2012 Olympics. Before that Indian hockey used to romance the 1948 Olympic gold medal they had won in london.
"We like a challenge, but we have to execute our tactics in match situations and keep evolving," said Oltmans, who has continued his rotational policy to provide exposure to all players ahead of picking the squad for Rio de Janeiro.
Custodian PR Sreejesh, who will captain the squad at the Champions Trophy, and penalty corner shooter VR Raghunath are back in the squad after missing the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, while Sardar Singh and Rupinder Pal Singh have been rested.
Young penalty corner shooter Harmanpreet Singh's fine show in Sultan Azlan Shah Cup secured his selection for CT, where he will share the duties with Raghunath.
For goalkeeper Vikas Dahiya and colleague Pradeep Mor this is the biggest stage of their short playing career.