Tokyo Olympics: 'Indian hockey team's biggest asset is fitness', says Dhanraj Pillay

With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics just nine days away and the athletes ready to fly to Japan, Indian hockey legend Dhanraj Pillay said that the current Indian hockey team's biggest asset is their fitness. He also counselled the team to not get ahead of themselves by thinking of a podium finish but to instead take it one match at a time.

"I am very confident they will do it this time. They have been doing well in the last five years. Fitness is their biggest asset. In those days, we didn't have the kind of support system they have now. This team has done wonders, won the hearts of millions of fans with their recent performances particularly the Champions Trophy (in 2016 and 2017) and the World League Finals (2015 and 2017) results. I know they can do it this time," Pillay said in a Flashback Series organised by Hockey India.

On July 12, Pillay had even sent a personalised letter to skippers Manpreet Singh and Rani Rampal wishing both of the teams good luck. "Since I am also in Bangalore, I would have loved to meet them in person but due to protocols, I did not. I sent them a letter wishing them the very best and I wanted to convey to them that they should be careful of their diet when they are in the Olympic Village. I also wanted to convey to them that they should enjoy the best part of their athletic life being calm and relaxed," said Pillay.

"To both men and women's team, I want to say, don't think about the podium finish. Go match-by-match and stick together as one until the last day, the last day, the last match of the tournament," he added.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has already confirmed that boxer Mary Kom and men's hockey team captain Manpreet would be the flagbearers for the Indian contingent. Wrestler Bajrang Punia will be the flagbearer at the closing ceremony. The Indian contingent will depart for Tokyo on July 17.

The Hockey squads going for 2020 Tokyo Olympics 

Men's squad:

Goalkeepers: PR Sreejesh;

Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, Surender Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Birendra Lakra;

Midfielders: Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Nilakanta Sharma, Sumit;

Forwards: Shamsher Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Gurjant Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Mandeep Singh.

Women's squad:

Goalkeepers: Savita;

Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka, Nikki Pradhan, Gurjit Kaur, Udita;

Midfielders: Nisha, Neha, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Monika, Navjot Kaur, Salima Tete;

Forwards: Rani, Navneet Kaur, Lalremsiami, Vandana Katariya, Sharmila Devi

(Image Credits: PTI/ @dhanrajpillay1 - Twitter)