Salima Tete, the captain of the Indian women’s hockey team, on Thursday admitted that some portion of their poor run after the historic fourth position finish in Tokyo 2020 Olympics could be attributed to unfit players and those who lacked mental toughness. The team, coming off of their historic triumph in Tokyo, had failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics 2024 and recently suffered a dismal campaign in FIH Pro League.

Obviously it was disappointing, but there’s nothing you can do about the past. Salima said in an interview with PTI ahead of the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy, starting November 11 in Rajgir, Bihar: “We’ve to look forward because otherwise we won’t be able to win any matches.

For me and the whole team, it hasn’t been easy for anyone. But yes, we have been trying our best,” said Salima. Salima, however, feels despite these experiences having been a tough one during the journey since missing out on qualifying for the Paris Olympics and under new head coach Harendra Singh, have provided valuable lessons.

So we had to rebuild it, from ground zero. One of the first things that Harendra sir focused on was fitness, and we needed to work hard on it. We should have made fitness a priority faster. You have to be fit today, if you are not you will not make it because hockey require strenuous workout to outperform the opposition.

 

The whole squad now stands by the idea of fitness and how essential it is in providing results. “As you can see, we’re working on getting stronger. Now the girls are squatting over 100 kg, I remember when we were all struggling to lift weights. This shows our progress.”  Salima added.

The importance of mental strength was also acknowledged by Harendra Singh, and in July the team attended an intensive mental conditioning and team-building camp at the Indian Naval Academy at Ezhimala, Kerala. Salima described her camp experience as follows: “Before, we didn’t do mental training. The camp was extremely hard but also invaluable. We were taught that without sweat we would get nothing. Salima also emphasized the need for improvements in the execution of attacks, especially in the circle and penalty corners beyond fitness and mental aspects. Those are things we’ve been working on.

Going forward, Salima stressed that the squad is continuing with a clean slate and zeroing in on the 2028 L.A. Games. “This is a new beginning for Indian women’s hockey. Goal is qualifying for and placing at the 2028 Olympics.That’s what we’re focused on going forward,” she said.

 

India will be competing as the defending champions in the upcoming Asian Champions Trophy, and Salima has directed a single-minded focus from her team on gold. Our target with this championship is to go win it. It is not a results-driven game alone; all we want to do is win our battle. Everyone will simply have to play part in it to get the win. All can use their individual strengths for me, it is speed and I will do what I need to help the team.”

The tournament will also see the participation of India along with teams such as China (2024 Paris Olympic silver medalists), Japan (2018 Asian Games champions), Malaysia, Korea (two-time Olympic silver medallists) and Thailand.