India has a good chance to win Olympic gold again: Zafar Iqbal – Dainik Savera Times

Srinagar: Veteran hockey player Zafar Iqbal said here that the Indian hockey team playing in the Asian Games is one of the best teams of the country in the last several years and there is a good chance of winning the Olympic gold medal again. The Indian men’s team ended a 41-year Olympic medal drought by winning the bronze medal with a 5-4 win over Germany at the Tokyo Games in 2021. “We are in the process of qualifying for the 2024 Olympics,” Zafar told reporters here on Thursday.

We won the semi-finals against the strong Korean team and now we have a great chance to win the gold medal and qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. He said, “I am sure India has a good chance to win an (Olympic) medal again because we were bronze medalists in the Tokyo Olympics. We competed very well and won a medal for the country. He had come here as the chief guest in the final match of the third season of Guru Hargobind Sahib Hockey Tournament.

Zafar, a member of the 1980 Moscow Olympics gold medal-winning team, said India is performing well in the Asian Games and is exceeding expectations. “We have already crossed the target that was set for the 2018 Games, we have already crossed 85 medals, which was not expected,” he said. This is only because people are moving towards developing sports culture in our country. He said that the team playing in the Asian Games is one of the best.

Zafar said, “Hockey is the game of the people of our country and this game has given a lot to this country, eight times we were (Olympic) gold medal winners in hockey. Apart from this we were also silver and bronze medal winners. No other country has given so much to sports in the last 80 years. He said, “I am sure that if the young players play like the team playing in the Asian Games, then India’s future is very good. I believe this is one of the best teams. We should pray for him to win the gold medal for our country.