In an exclusive chat with espnstar.com, the Australia defender expressed his joy after winning the World Cup.

By Anshul Baijal

Nothing succeeds like success. After winning the hockey World Cup, Australia defender Mark Knowles is aiming for bigger things in his life.

The Aussies turned it around after losing their first match to England on the opening day and Knowles believes this shows the mental strength of the team. "It was disappointing to start your campaign like that, but we never lost self belief. It shows how strong the guys are mentally," he said.

The Kookaburras were up against a familiar foe in the final. They had lost the previous two World Cup finals to Germany, but Knowles insists that this fact never bothered them. "Germany are a very good side. They had beaten us in the last two finals, but we were not really thinking about it before the match. We knew we had to go out there and do well and we did exactly that," said Knowles.

The is only the second win at the world championships for Australia and their first after 24 years and Knowles credited coach Ric Charlesworth for the team's success. "He is a great coach. He changed the structure of the game. He instilled self belief in us and we have been playing very well under him," said the 25-year-old Knowles.

After the historic win, Knowles does not want to rest on his laurels and says that he is already looking forward to the 2012 Olympics in London. "We have to keep working hard and keep playing good hockey. We were unlucky in Beijing and want to win the gold in London now," concluded Knowles.