We have worked hard in the past nine months and are really prepared for the Olympic qualifiers in Chile. I am confident that our boys would perform to their potential and not let us down. It is an important tournament for us and we just cannot afford to fail. We have prepared well and it is now imperative to implement the plans well.
India have played the qualifying rounds earlier, but never missed a single Olympics till now. I do not see anything wrong in having to go through the qualifying process. After all, even Holland and Spain, had to qualify for the 1996 Olympics. The Dutch went on to win the gold medal. This year, World champions Germany will be playing the qualifying tournament in Japan.

Modern hockey is all about power and tactics. Most of the teams rely on their penalty corner attack drills and a cautious defence. So all the six teams vying for the one and only slot for the Beijing Olympics would be well prepared in their own way.

We have also done our homework and would be taking one team at a time, not really focusing on one particular opponent. Chile have prepared well for this tournament playing a series of matches and a camp in New Zealand. The other dark horses like Austria and Mexico cannot be taken lightly.

It is indeed a great honour to be a double Olympian — both as a player and coach of the Indian hockey team. I was privileged to be part of the team at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 as a player under late Balkishen Singh. To emulate my late coach, I have to cross the last hurdle the Olympic qualifier at Santiago to book a berth for the Beijing Olympics.