Rani Rampal confident that India's new fitness approach for Olympics will bring surprises

The postponed Tokyo Olympics will begin on July 23, 2021, for which the Indian women's hockey team has already qualified. With the team resuming practice from August 19, India will aim for a medal at the Olympics. Based on the team's previous Olympics appearances, captain Rani Rampal recently spoke about India's new approach, and how it is bound to surprise at the Tokyo Olympics. 

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Indian hockey: Rani Rampal on India's chances at the Tokyo Olympics

During Rani Rampal's recent interview with the Olympic Channel, she discussed the women's team qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics on Indian soil at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar last November. Rampal was the one who clinched the 6-5 aggregate victory, despite having lost the previous qualifier. She then spoke about how qualifying for the Olympics two times in a row itself is a big deal, especially after the country's team did not qualify for years. 

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The women's hockey team made their Olympics debut at Moscow in 1980, when they finished fourth. However, India's next qualification came 36 years later during the 2016 Rio Olympics, where they ranked last with four losses and one draw. Rani Rampal then explained how things have taken a positive turn for women's hockey. While women's hockey seldom had media attention or large audiences, the global age and social media have resulted in more people following the team and their journey.

Rampal acknowledged the team's mistakes at the 2016 Rio Olympics and spoke about not repeated them once again. According to the 25-year-old captain, they have gained experience and learned from their loss. Veteran players can guide youngsters at the Olympics, Rampal said, as they might get nervous on the international platform. 

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She focused on the new and improved fitness level of the team, which was lacking a few years ago. As per Rampal, they were always nervous about physically lacking against European teams. However, she is now confident that they can now match the fitness level. Rampal further elaborated on the more holistic approach taken by the team, as sports science is playing a larger role with training. Even their training session is being analysed constantly, with the schedule being decided based on muscle soreness reports. She added that exposure-wise and nutrition-wise, things have improved for the team. 

Towards the end, Rampal revealed that they have good expectations from the team, and will aim to qualify for the quarterfinals first. She added that after the quarterfinals, a second stage of the competition begins, where it's anyone's game, and whoever plays better wins the game. The team has started outdoor this week, and is hoping to participate abroad is the COVID-19 situation approves.

Two months ago, Rampal was among athletes nominated for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. She has, till now, led the team to their historic wins at the Women's Asia Cup (2017) and silver at the Asian Games (2018). Under her captaincy, the team has climbed to a career-best FIH ranking of No.9.

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(Image source: PTI)