We believe that we have a good team which can repeat history, claims Lalremsiami
Lalremsiami feels that the women’s hockey team has worked hard to achieve its goals and is confident enough to beat the top teams and attain the landmark of making it to the 2020 Olympics. She further talked about the heartbreak in the Asian Games last year and their FIH Women’s Series triumph.
The Indian women’s hockey team are in for some busy months ahead of them as they prepare themselves to participate in the Olympic test event beginning on August 17th. The tournament will give them the platform to test their skills and work out their strategies before they take off for the Olympics qualifiers scheduled for November.
“The team is very confident ahead of the Olympic Test Event because we have worked hard during our practice sessions. Every session in the National Camp is planned keeping in mind the Olympic Qualifiers. We believe that we have a good team which can repeat history by qualifying for the Olympics again,” Lalremsiami was reported saying by Scroll.in.
The team has only participated in the Olympics twice before, with their first appearance coming in Moscow in 1980 and their latest in the last edition in Rio. However, the 19-year-old stated that both the Indian federation and the players are doing their best to make it to the finals yet again.
“We improved our game day by day in the special training camps organised by Hockey India. We focused on certain aspects of our game such as when to tackle players, man-to-man marking etc. After enhancing our game, I believe we are an even more confident unit,” added Lalremsiami.
Currently placed 10th in the rankings, India has been drawn with China, hosts Japan and second-ranked Australia who will undoubtedly turn out to be their biggest challenge. However, the forward believes they have it in them to overcome the obstacle and emerge victorious.
“Australia are one of the best teams in the world, but we are also a good team. So we are confident to take them on in the Olympic Test Event. If we do well at the Olympic Test Event then we will gain more confidence ahead of the Olympic Qualifiers,” she said.
The team had a golden chance to confirm their berth in Tokyo when they reached the final of the Asian Games last year in Jakarta. However, a 2-1 loss against Japan meant they lived to fight another day.
“We played very well at the Asian Games and we knew that if we had won there then we would have qualified for the Olympics. We worked hard during the tournament, but we made a few mistakes,” Lalremsiami said.
However, they did get their chance to exact revenge when they faced the same opponents in yet another final. Only this time, it was FIH Women’s Series Finals and they would end up on the right side of the result, winning 3-1 to claim the title.
“Thereafter, we decided that we will not repeat our mistakes at the FIH Women’s Series Finals and we triumphed in the competition against the same Japan team we lost to in the Asian Games Final,” she added.
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