In a candid conversation with Hockey Te Charcha, a podcast series launched by Hockey India in the lead up to the Olympic Games, VR Raghunath thinks that the current lot of Indian players are better equipped than the ones who took the field in Rio de Janerio, 2016, to finish on the podium.

“The Canada match which we drew cost us in 2016,” Raghunath reflected on India’s campaign in Brazil five years ago. “That result put us in a different qualification group. But I feel the current batch of players can handle the Olympics a lot better. The same batch of players have been around for seven-eight years now, they are in touch with European players. They can perform much better than Rio. In the Olympics, it comes down to one or two matches and how you get your rhythm right in the arena. I have seen teams keeping it simple and playing with a free mind. I’d tell the players not to think much about the occasion.

“The players are in the same age group and have been quarantined together for a long time so they are familiar with each other and have been winning Pro League games as well. Players like Rupinder and Manpreet were around in the previous edition as well. They have covered every area well,” the 32-year-old added.