By IANS,
New Delhi: Having won the hockey World Cup after 24 years, Australian captain Jamie Dwyer said they would now aim to win the gold at the 2012 London Olympics.
Australian coach Ric Charlesworth, who won the World Cup both as a player and a coach, said there is still scope for the team to improve, specially in the finishing of the forwardline.
Dwyer said they had prepared hard for the tournament.
“We are happy to win the tournament. We played better tonight. Every player in the team contributed towards the effort of the team,” said Dwyer, who was playing in his last World Cup.
“We have been preparing for the World Cup for 14 months and it is a fantastic feeling to win it finally after losing twice to Germany in the last two editions. Now we will go back home, take a few weeks’ rest, and set a new goal to win the Olymics,” said Dwyer.
Dwyer said Charlesworth’s presence was inspiring.
“He has an unbelievable record as a player and he did wonders as coach of the women’s team. He changed the way hockey is played. If we play every match the way he wants us to play, we will always win. He gives confidence to the players. He wants us to reach our potential,” he said.
“Germany were outstanding in the field and it was a close match. We lost to them twice in the finals, but we never thought about it while taking the field today. That was past for us,” the captain added.
Charlesworth said the team needed to improve.
“I believed in their ability. They still need to improve. Today we had far more shots on the goal than Germany, and so we won. But we need to improve on our finishing.”