London: With reputation in tatters, Indian hockey team would look to salvage at least one victory from their disastrous Olympic Games campaign that has pushed them into a playoff to avert the bottom place finish in the 12-team competition.
India will take on South Africa on Friday in the playoff to decide the 11th and 12th place, a match-up similar to that of the 2006 World Cup in Monchengladbach, where India managed to put it across the Southern African rivals to finish 11th.
The Indian team's mental fragility has been exposed during their five league matches that left the jittery and fumbling Indians struggling against opponents, who were determined to leave their mark in the Olympic competition.
India, making a return to the Olympic arena after failing to qualify for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, struggled to find their feet and the players did not show any determination to be combative against opponents who had superior physique and used it effectively to dispossess the Indians....
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09:38 PM, Aug 10, 2012
