Leicester's Crista Cullen believes Great Britain proved to the world at the Champions Trophy that they will be major contenders for an Olympic Games gold medal this summer.

Cullen was a member of the Great Britain team that pushed world champions Argentina hard in the final in their own backyard in Rosario before losing 1-0 to a goal from a penalty-corner.

On the way, they avenged a defeat by Korea in the final of a warm-up tournament and also beat Germany, who are ranked third in the world, one place above GB.

Cullen, GB's talismanic defender who was the tournament's top scorer with five goals, has consistently talked of GB targeting gold in London, and now she feels they have backed up their claims.

"It's strange because, whenever I have been interviewed, I have always said the potential we have got in this group is a gold medal," said Cullen, 26, who was part of the GB team which finished sixth in Beijing in 2008.

"And suddenly this has put us among it a lot more. This proves to the rest of the world that we are genuine challengers for the gold medal.

"I just think it's made it even more exciting for us. The gold medal is realistic, and coming away with a silver has given us that bit of grit between our teeth.

"We have to train hard and work hard because our aspirations are to get a gold medal around our neck."

The squad included three other Leicester players, Anne Panter, Chloe Rogers and Hannah Macleod, as well as a former team-mate, Laura Unsworth, now with Loughborough Students.

GB made history in becoming the first women's team from these shores to reach the final of a major tournament.

In doing so they made certain that they would not end up with another bronze medal.

Cullen has more bronze than you can shake a hockey stick at, and has had enough of third place. So was she miffed with silver?

"As much as we did well to get to the final, fought really hard and are elated that we have got a medal, ultimately, gold is what we were after," she said.

"So it's mixed emotions. We are happy we have got a silver, but at the same time we still have aspirations for gold and that is what we are looking for going forward."

While GB coach Danny Kerry was unhappy at seeing his team play some of the earlier games in stifling heat in mid-afternoon, Cullen said conditions played no part in the final, which started at 8pm.

But she thinks the huge crowd was a big advantage to Argentina and is banking on home advantage helping GB at the Olympics.

"It was a very close game. Argentina had a number of corners and we defended really well, but unfortunately one went in," she said.

"They had a huge crowd behind them and that plays its part.

"Argentina played well, but we did also. From the semi-final I thought our girls really stepped up to the plate.

"I think the crowd provides an extra player on the pitch. I'm not saying that it's a major changer but it does play a part, and that will be in our favour come London."

The quest for Olympic gold involves inevitable sacrifices, and Cullen has had to reduce her hours with the marketing section of London company Sports Recruitment International.

At the end of this month, GB are off to Barcelona for a Four Nations tournament involving America, Belgium, and Spain.

Then they play in the Olympic test event from May 2 to 6, and just seven weeks before London 2012 they will host some of the best teams in the world at the Investec London Cup in Chiswick.

"I have had to review my amount of hours I work because you can't commit and you are letting people down," said Cullen. "We were all fully briefed in the build-up that 2012 was going to be a year with a lot of matches and preparation, and we had to ramp it up more.

"I never look at is as a sacrifice because it's a piece of my life I will never get back, it's so exciting for all the reasons that the Olympics are special.

"As much as other things have to take a back seat, our aspirations are so high and we want to push ourselves that much further, that we have to have rest time and put our feet up, otherwise you just can't compete at that level."

While Cullen is a shoo-in for London, she is taking nothing for granted.

"This is what dreams are made of," she said. "You train and commit your heart out to go to an Olympic Games, let alone a home Olympic Games. That is where the focus has been for the last four years.

"Until you see your name on that sheet of paper, nothing is certain. Once selection is over, that is only part of the job done.

"Then you have to go and perform and win the medal we aspire to get."