We believe India can and will always be one of leading nations in field hockey, says Elena Norman

We believe India can and will always be one of leading nations in field hockey, says Elena Norman

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Twitter | Odisha Sports

Hockey India CEO Elena Norman is of the belief that India is always one of the leading nations in field hockey. The CEO of Hockey India has also stated that the Hockey India have put systems in place in last few years and some of which are also looked upon as global best practices.

The Indian hockey teams are now having one aim and that is to qualify for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics which will be held next year. The men’s team won the FIH Series Finals in Bhubaneswar and will now play in the final round of the FIH Olympic Qualifiers later this year. On the other hand, the women’s team topped the group in the first stage of ongoing the FIH Women’s Series Finals in Hiroshima.

Speaking about the standard of the sport in India, CEO of Hockey India Elena Norman has said that all the teams in men’s, women’s and junior categories have shown improvement in their performance as well as in rankings.

“The Indian hockey scenario has seen a sea change over the last eight years for sure. The teams across men, women and juniors have all grown phenomenally in their performance and global rankings as well. We have made a long journey and it has taken a lot of hard work from the players, administration and coaching staff. Our objective has always been to focus on players and give them the best facilities and opportunity to perform to their full potential. We believe India can and will always be one of the leading nations in field hockey,” Norman told TOI.

“There is no doubt that professional management of any national sports federation reaps long-term benefits. The entire focus is towards building performance, backed by an efficient and supportive administration. We have put systems in place over the years, some of which are now looked upon as global best practices as well. We have an extensive training programme as well as a robust calendar of playing opportunities for our teams. We always like to find opportunities beyond the scheduled global tournaments by encouraging more invitational tours to grow exposure for our players to benchmark themselves against the best in the world.”

The Indian women’s team has made wonderful progress in the last three to four years. They qualified for the Rio Olympics in 2016 after a long gap of 36 years. Now, with three wins from three games in the group stage, the Rani Rampal-led side has already made it to the semi-final of the FIH Women’s Series Finals. A win in the semi-final will ensure that the girls will stay one-step away from making it to the Olympics. Norman said that women’s team has transformed in front of her eyes over the last few years.

“Women's hockey team has transformed in front of my eyes over the years. I believe there is a lot more we can still work towards achieving. Qualifying for the 2016 Olympics after thirty six years was a big achievement and there has been no stopping our women athletes ever since. At Hockey India, we strive towards having equal opportunities across all teams and our female athletes have made us proud. Their performance speaks for itself,” the Hockey India CEO explained.

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