Former captain Zafar Iqbal was impressed with the improvement Indian hockey has made under Micheal Nobbs but feels it would be too premature to expect a podium finish in London.
"I don't have high hopes of a medal, but we should at least play better hockey. We suddenly can't expect to jump to the top league from number 10 position. If anything of this sort happens it would be a miracle," Zafar told PTI.
"The start will be important for us. The Netherlands has always been a strong team. So if we manage to pull off a draw, it would boost our confidence for the remaining matches," said the former centre forward, who was a member of India's 1980 team that won the last Olympic gold medal in Moscow.
"A place in the semi-finals would be a dream result for India but our first aim should be to finish at least third in the group," he added.
Zafar also said that going into the Games the Indians are at par with the top teams in some areas but also have many grey areas to counter.
"In terms of ability in specific areas we are equally good like other teams. But we have many weaknesses. The defence is our major weak link," Zafar observed. (MORE)