‘Exciting to see India women’s hockey team face the strongest in Netherlands’

India women’s hockey team have qualified for their third and second consecutive Olympic Games. However, the going wouldn’t be easy as they have been drawn in a tough group involving top teams like Netherlands, defending champions Great Britain, Germany, Ireland and South Africa.

At Rio 2016, India lost four group games, with their best result a 2-2 draw against Japan.

Deepika Thakur, who was part of the Rio 2016 squad, believes that the current Indian women’s hockey team looks promising and that the girls have put in a lot of effort to be in their best form at Tokyo 2020.

“The team looks really good this time around and the girls have really worked hard. But the pool they are in is really tough. I think even Ireland will be a tough team to face for them.

“The last time when we faced Ireland in a World Cup it was a draw against Ireland and at the Olympics, you must know that everyone comes in with more than double of that preparation. And, because they will have come into the Olympics for the first time,” Thakur told Olympics.com.

India are to face Netherlands in their opening game of the competition and Thakur believes that the challenge to face the world number one side in the very first game will bring its own complications.

“I'm very excited for the match. The Netherlands is one of the strongest team and number one in the world. They have too much combination and understanding. Even if they make changes then the other player who steps on the mat will be of the same level and there won't be any difference in their skills,” she said.

Thakur believes that the chances of the Indian women’s hockey team to progress into the knockout stage will depend on how they perform in the opening three matches.

“I think the first three matches where they face Netherlands, Germany and Great Britain, will be extremely crucial to understand if they can progress to the later stage of the tournament or not,” she mentioned.