He guided India to a historic bronze medal in the junior women's hockey World Cup in 2013, and a year later Neil Hawgood is now eyeing an encore if not better with the senior team in the upcoming Commonwealth Games, beginning July 23.
The Indian eves could not have asked for a better preparation ahead of the Glasgow Games as they routed Malaysia 6-0 in an away Test series recently to gain confidence.
Taking a lot of positives from this success, Hawgood has set his sights on at least a semifinal finish in the CWG.
"The Malaysia series gave the girls a chance to play Test matches without any pressure. The series gave them an opportunity to express themselves and try out new things. In the end, the results lifted our confidence tremendously," coach Hawgood told PTI in an interview before boarding the flight to Glasgow.
"The CWG is a big tournament for us ahead of the Asian Games. Our first target is a top-4 finish, if we don't qualify for the semifinals it will be a big disappointment. In the semifinals anything can happen," the Australian said.
The CWG has great significance for India ahead of the "important" Asian Games to be host by South Korean city of Incheon from September 19 to October 4, and Hawgood is well aware of the fact.
"For a coach every tournament is important. But in long-term perspective the Asian Games is more important for us. It gives us a chance to directly qualify for the Rio Olympics," he said.
