Indian hockey midfielder Sumit on Friday said it will take time for the team to get back to the "excellent rhythm" it had before the coronavirus-forced national lockdown.
Sumit said the team is still upbeat after its impressive performance against the world's top three teams in the FIH Hockey Pro League, which has been put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team is currently at the Sports Authority of India Centre here.
"This is probably the first time that we have not trained hockey in so long. We were in excellent rhythm when training was suspended due to lockdown. Getting back to that fine rhythm will take some time but since we are focused on maintaining fitness, we are in a better position than many of our opponents," Sumit said.
"Olympics is the ultimate dream and the postponement has not changed our belief of a top-3 finish. We have self belief after performing well against the Netherlands, Belgium and Australia. Every single player in the core group believes we can finish in top 3 in Olympics."
"I remember when we won the Sultan of Johor Cup in 2014 and steadily kept improving performance in the lead up to the FIH Men's Junior World Cup in 2016, the team had started believing that we can win the Gold. That self-belief and attitude is what eventually helped us win the title."
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