Australian Kookaburras goalkeeper Andrew Charter's Olympic Games dream is driven by the painful memory of his London experience and credits working with a sports psychologist for making him mentally prepared for redemption.
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Charter will arrive back in Australia on Tuesday after confirming his standing as the Kookaburras' No. 1 shot-stopper and helping them win the World League title in India.
The Kookaburras beat Belgium 2-1 in the World League final in Raipur on Monday morning (AEDT) as they continue to stake their claim as the Olympic favourites.
The Canberra junior won his 100th international cap at the tournament and is on track to keep his spot when coach Graham Reid names his Olympic training squad next week.
Charter was forced to watch from the stands and denied a bed in the athletes' village at the London Olympics three years ago in his role as a reserve for the Kookaburras squad.
But since then he has been working with a Hockey Australia-appointed sports psychologist to improve his resilience and chase his Rio Olympic goal.
The main difference has been controlling his on-field temperament and the "fire" he gets when he switches into competition mode.
"Being part of the London experience but also not a part of it is something that has really driven me, I don't want to be in that position again," Charter said.
"Since then I've done everything I can to try to ensure that I won't be in that position. I used to get really worked up and fiery in a game. It's a matter of controlling that and being calmer.
"We didn't get the results we wanted in London so we brought in sports psychologists and one travels with us every tour. We have weekly psych sessions to address things and help identify when guys aren't feeling as good as they can. It's about talking about it and bringing everyone closer together."
The Kookaburras are the No. 1 ranked team in the world and are on track to to win Olympic gold for the first time since 2004.
Young guns Jeremy Hayward and Matthew Dawson scored to lift the Kookaburras to a 2-1 triumph over Belgium and send a warning to their rivals.
Goulburn's Glenn Turner was solid through the tournament and showed he's ready to go to be a part of his second Olympic campaign.
Charter just wants to keep improving to cement his Olympic selection and he conceded just nine goals in six matches at the World League.
Reid will announce his Olympic training squad on December 17.
"It was a pretty tough tournament, it was our last chance to play the big teams probably until the Olympics," Charter said.
"It was a good test for us ... it was another step forward, we had the chance to play some young guys and have a really good hit out. I think we've developed ourselves more so on the mental side.
"We lost to Great Britain (5-2) and we had to handle adversity. For me, 100 games is a big milestone for a goalkeeper. I'm more comfortable out there even though the nerves are still there."
Man of the match Hayward's unstoppable shot into the top-right corner early in the second quarter put Reid's men in front before Dawson's drag flick doubled their advantage midway through the third period.
There was further celebration for the Kookaburras following the match with veteran Jamie Dwyer awarded player of the tournament.
