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Proud of their newly-found toned physique, the Indian players plan to flaunt their six-pack abs if they perform well, said vice-captain Sardar Singh.
Sardar is one of the fittest players not just in India but in the world and the soft-spoken midfielder from Sant Nagar village of Haryana`s Sirsa district credits team`s exercise physiologist David John for the transformation.
"Our fitness has witnessed a sea change in the last one year and all credit goes to David for making the difference," Sardar told PTI in an interview from La Albericia, the capital city of Cantabria in Spain.
"Earlier, we used to feel shy to show off our body which is not the case now. In fact, if we do well in the Olympics, we have plans to celebrate the success by showing off our six-pack abs," he said.
As suggested by chief coach Michael Nobbs, Sardar is crucial to India`s success in London. Being part of the FIH All-Stars team for two consecutive years, Sardar is considered the driving force of the team, but he does not want to take undue pressure.
"As such there is no additional pressure on me. Obviously, there is the pressure to perform for the country but being a professional player I know how to handle such situations," he insisted.
"The only pressure we have is to get Indian hockey back to its previous glory. We have the potential to finish in top four. We have good players in all positions. With a little bit of luck we can produce a surprise result for the country," Sardar added.
He was a part of the team that suffered heartbreak in Chile four years ago, but for Sardar that debacle is a thing of past. "Chile is no doubt a very bad memory for the country. The memories of Chile are hard to forget, but we slowly managed to overcome that. One bad loss in Chile cost us a spot in Beijing Olympics.
"But this time, we have prepared well as a team. Slowly and steadily, we are returning to the right track."
Sardar said the ongoing tour of Europe will be crucial to India`s Olympic preparations. "We want to test all our players in ongoing tour. We will plan our strategies for the Olympics based on our performance in France and Spain."
