FIH Olympic Qualifiers | Teamwork and home support will help us against USA, says Rani Rampal
Indian women’s hockey team skipper Rani Rampal has praised the consistency in team selection which she believes helps the team members understand each other better on and off the field. Rani said that the support that the Bhubaneswar crowd will provide is going to be a huge boost for her side.
The 18-member Indian Women's Hockey team was announced in Bhubaneshwar on Friday by Chief Coach Sjoerd Marijne which saw the Dutchman declare an unchanged squad from the preparatory tour of England earlier this month, and skipper Rani Rampal believes that the consistency in team selection has helped the team members understand each other better on and off the field.
"We have a group of players who have played together for a good period of time, and that obviously helps in building a good understanding between all the team members. We know each other in and out, and all of us understand each other both on and off the field, so I believe it has also helped us a lot. We are now preparing to be at their best when we take on USA in the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers here at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium," Rani said to Hockey India.
24-year-old Rani said that the support that the Bhubaneswar crowd will provide is going to be a huge boost for her side as she looked back at her experience of representing the national team in front of the home support in 2013.
"Some members from this team have played in India before but that was way back in the FIH World League Round 2 in 2013, but the crowd that comes out to watch hockey in Bhubaneswar is nothing like that. We know we will be cheered on from the first minute of the match, and we are all looking forward to playing at home. It is a good moment in your life when you play such a huge match in front of your home crowd, and the team is looking forward to producing a great performance and enjoying it on the field," she said.
Taking nothing away from her opponents, Rani acknowledged the might of the USA team but she has also shown faith in the energy that the crowd will provide which she hopes will help them qualify for their second successive Olympics. Leading the side into two matches of such high intensity, Rani said there is pressure, but her team has huge belief and confidence in themselves, and are focusing on getting their basics right and playing their own brand of hockey.
"We all know how important these matches are, but we cannot let them get to us. We have played in huge matches before and we now have the experience of coping up with the pressure. We will play our own game, and focus on the basics. If we can continue with the way we have been playing, and play according to our plans, we will be able to produce good results," she concluded.
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