Bad weather throws a spanner in the Indian Hockey team's preparations for Belgium tie

Michael Nobbs will have to motivate his squad ahead of their tricky opener against Belgium

Bad weather, sickness and pressure to perform are just a few of the adversities that are being faced by the Indian national hockey team ahead of their Champions Challenge Hockey tournament opening match against Belgium tomorrow. Since arriving at Johannesburg four days ago, Michael Nobb’s men have barely had any match practice due to weather constraints.

India were scheduled to take on Canada and Malaysia as preparation for to the tournament but uncertain weather forced them to abandon the plans and Michael Nobbs was arguably disappointed about it.

“It’s disappointing, but no team would want to risk injury in such conditions,” he said.

Not only that, V. Ragunath and Sarvanjit Singh are both down with altitude sickness resulting from Johannesburg’s high altitude level although Nobbs was quick to assert their situation.

“These two are feeling altitude sickness right now, but will get over that in a few days,” Nobbs added.

India are under pressure to deliver in this tournament, with their chances of qualifying for the Olympics hanging in the balance. They were originally scheduled to host the Champions Trophy before the crisis between Hockey India (HI) and Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) prompted the FIH to shift the tournament to New Zealand.

Subsequently, India were drawn to play in the Champions Challenge tournament, where the champion would earn an automatic ticket to the 2012 London Olympics. Nevertheless, India will be aiming to kick start their campaign on a positive note against the unpredictable Belgians, who finished fourth in the European Cup earlier this year.