New Delhi, Dec 31: India Women’s Hockey team captain Rani Rampal opened up about the team’s record fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics and said it has motivated the players to perform even better.
Speaking on the podcast ‘Hockey Te Charcha’, Rani said: “I feel 100 percent we could have won the semi-final match against Argentina.
“We took an early lead in the match and put them under pressure. We executed everything coaches told us but conceding PCs cost us,” she said.
Speaking about India’s performance at the Olympics, the skipper said: “We finished 12th in 2016 when we went to Rio Olympics and this time at Tokyo Olympics we finished 4th. So, it has been a big growth for women’s hockey.
“2021 proved to be a good year for us. We could have won a medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
“We will always feel the pain of not being able to do that, because we were so close. It was not hard to accept it at first,” she added.
“But I think it was a huge learning experience for all the players who will get an understanding of how to remain calm in knockout matches of big tournaments. We will surely get better the next time.”
The 27-year-old forward spoke about the difficulties the Indian women faced during the pandemic era before heading to the Tokyo Olympics.
“For every athlete in the world, the past two years have been quite challenging due to Covid. Most athletes were at their peak before the Tokyo Olympics were postponed (in 2020).
“A lot of doubts crept up in athletes when we were placed in the bio-bubble. It was becoming difficult to push yourself mentally, physically, emotionally, at that time,” Rani said.
