After Commonwealth Games Silver, Hockey India Eyes Asian Games Gold
India won the silver in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. They were soundly beaten by Australia 4-0 in the final.
Having won the Commonwealth Games silver medal in Glasgow on Sunday, Team India are now eyeing the Asian Games gold in South Korea later this year. Australia hammered India 4-0 in the final match in Glasgow but the silver was not a bad finish since Sardar Singh's team defeated the higher ranked New Zealanders en route to the final.
The Indian team arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday evening to a rousing reception. Hockey India officials welcomed the players with garlands and a big smile. Surely, the officials wanted to celebrate India's few and far between international success.
Delighted by the welcome at the airport, captain Sardar Singh said, "I am more than happy to be back home and extremely overjoyed at such a grand reception by friends and fans. Our next step is winning the gold at the upcoming Asian Games for which the boys are going into the tournament confident.
"The just concluded Commonwealth Games brought to the forefront many positives along with some areas that needs urgent attention to better ourselves. We will work towards the loopholes and put forward a better team for the forthcoming Asian Games."
The XVII Asian Games will be held in Incheon, South Korea from September 19 to October 4, 2014.