To your recollection, Manpreet had led the men’s team to the Olympic Bronze after a desperate wait of 41 years.

“Asian Games will undoubtedly be the biggest event for us this year. Surely the competition will be quite tough at the Asian Games as all teams will be vying to make the Olympics cut (by winning gold),” he said, as quoted by PTI.

The team winning Gold at the Asian Games, starting from September 10, automatically qualifies for the Olympics. India claimed a Bronze medal in the Jakarta Games in 2018. 

The FIH Pro League matches begin in February and India will play the likes of Spain, Germany, Argentina and England in Bhubaneswar.

“This year is going to be quite exciting with back-to-back tournaments all year long. We begin with FIH Pro League matches in February. After almost two years, we will be returning to our favourite venue in Bhubaneswar where we will play double-headers against Spain, Germany, Argentina and England,” he said.

“The FIH Pro League will help us gain some really good match experience ahead of Asian Games. Additionally, it will give us a great opportunity to try out different combinations ahead of Asian Games,” he said in a Hockey India release.

The players are set to report at SAI Bengaluru for the national camp after a short break following their Asian Champions Trophy outing in Dhaka.

Manpreet said the camp will be important to assess their performances from last year and also plan for the year ahead.

“It was a very good 10-day break for all of us, spending some quality time with our families. I feel we have returned to the camp feeling mentally fresh and ready for the challenge ahead.

“We will be assessing our performances in 2021 with the Chief Coach and support staff and we will also draw up a road map for 2022,” added the midfielder.

The post One eye on Asian Games, other on Olympics first appeared on The History Book of Indian Hockey.

While remembering the match day, goalkeeper Savita said, “Now that I have finally had some time to reflect on our performance, I do feel we achieved something outstanding, and the best part was the journey to get here over the past five years. We have endured a lot as a team and as individuals faced tremendous odds to reach this level. I think we will always cherish this journey.”

“Though we lost very closely to Argentina in the semi-finals, we wanted to give our everything against Great Britain and we really wanted that medal around our necks and after beating Australia, we really believed this was achievable,” continued Savita, as quoted by The New Indian Express. She is among six players who have been nominated for the FIH awards. In the category of Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year award, her name is suggested along with Argentina’s Belen Succi and Great Britain’s Maddie Hinch.

Savita broke into tears after losing the adventurous Bronze medal match at the Tokyo Olympics. Her being consoled by the team’s Analytical Coach Jenneke Schopman depicted the entire nation’s feelings. The women in blue were regarded as the underdogs of the tournament. They stood 12th in Rio Olympics and a handful of people have predicted them to be medal competitors in Tokyo.

“But now I feel the expectations will grow. People have seen that we can perform at top tournaments, and I believe we can live up to these expectations. We now have the experience, and the team is poised to achieve bigger feats. The experience in Rio made us believe in ourselves and we really worked hard to get to this level, now we will work on taking it to the next level,” added she.

Savita said the team’s next goal is to play their best in the calendar year 2022. With a gap of just three years to the next Olympics, their focus is to dispose of outstanding matches at the upcoming Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, aiming mainly to get on the podium in Paris.

“I actually can’t wait to return to camp in SAI, Bengaluru. It has become a place of comfort for us. There has been a lot of celebrations following the Olympics and now it’s time to get back to reality. Next year is crucial with the Asian Games and our priority will be to win Gold so we automatically qualify for the Paris Olympics. We will resume training with that target in mind,” she concluded.

The post We aim for Paris now, says goalkeeper Savita Punia first appeared on The History Book of Indian Hockey.

The post Asian Champions Trophy: Indian Hockey Team has an eye on wins against China, Malaysia to top league stage first appeared on The History Book of Indian Hockey.