We will give our best in Tokyo, asserts India women’s hockey skipper Rani Rampal

The Indian women's hockey team survived an extraordinary resurgence from a USA side, which was not willing to give up in the second leg of their Olympic qualifier at the Kalinga stadium, thus confirming a place in the Tokyo Olympics. An elated skipper, Rani Rampal on Sunday credited her team members, coaches, and support staff for the achievement. 

India went into the second leg with a comfortable 5-1 lead, but the US fought back and extraordinarily levelled the score 5-5 in the first half of the second game. However, India improved their performance in the second half and skipper Rampal scored what eventually turned out to be the winning goal in the 49th minute on Saturday.

Taking to Twitter, Rampal also said her team will give their best in the preparations for the Olympics in Tokyo next year.  "With a collective effort of our team members, coaches & support staff we have qualified for Tokyo Olympics but we will work hard for next 8 months to perform our best in Tokyo 2020," she tweeted on Sunday. 

The skipper also thanked the Union Sports Minister, Kiren Rijiju, and the national federation for showing faith in her team.