"We were one of the fittest teams in the world" - Indian hockey player Nikkin Thimmaiah opens up on hard work leading to Asian Games 2014 glory
Indian Hockey player Nikkin Thimmaiah made his national team debut in 2012 and scored 17 goals in 91 appearances wearing the national colors. The 33-year-old striker has won several medals with the Indian team, including two gold medals and three silver medals.
He won a silver medal at the Asia Cup 2013 in Ipoh, the Commonwealth Games 2014 in Glasgow, and the Champions Trophy 2016 in London. The Karnataka-born athlete won a gold medal at the 2016 Asian Champions Trophy in Kuantan and was part of the gold medal-winning team at the Asian Games 2014 in Incheon.
The gold medal at the 2014 Asian Games was historic as the team clinched a gold medal after 16 long years by defeating arch-rivals Pakistan in the final. The match ended 1-1 at full-time with Kothajit Khadangbam and Rizwan Sr. scoring a goal each for the two teams, respectively.
India went on to win the match 4-2 on penalties and bring home the gold medal after four editions.
Nikkin Thimmaiah spoke to Sportskeeda on the sidelines of the MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup. He was quoted as saying when asked about the preparation that went behind the gold medal preparations.
"It had been almost 16 years since we had won a gold medal in the Asian Games. We wanted to get the gold medal back to the country and we worked really hard and were one of the fittest teams in the world that year," he said.
"We did a lot of hard work and executed all plans guided and directed by the coach to perfection. It was a complete team effort," he added.
Nikkin also opened up about the feeling of winning his first gold medal for the national team. He said:
"The after feeling is not expressable because one has to be in that moment to live it. It was a dream come true for me and a great achievement overall."
Nikkin Thimmaiah scored his first goal for India against Bangladesh during the 2013 edition of the Asia Cup. He termed it as a "dream come true moment" to get on the score sheet for India.
The Indian national hockey team went on to win the silver medal in the competition and Nikkin scored an equalizer against Korea in the final.
For the unversed, the 33-year-old striker was also selected in the Rio Olympics 2016 squad. He fell short of words to describe his maiden Olympics call-up but considered it his "biggest achievement".
However, he expressed his disappointment in failing to qualify for the semis.
"It's one of the biggest tournaments, so playing at the Olympics is a big achievement. Playing on the biggest stage for the Indian team is the moment you enjoy the most but I can't describe the feeling in words. It just felt amazing," he concluded.