Indian women's hockey team already on Tokyo time
The members of the Indian women's hockey team have been training for the Tokyo Olympics in such a manner that their biological clock is already set to the Tokyo time, says senior mid-fielder Namita Toppo. With less than 50 days to go for the Olympics, members of Indian women's Olympic core group is currently training in a bio-secure environment at the SAI Center, Bengaluru.
Team is playing internal matches to build match-momentum
"Fitness continues to be a key area of focus," Toppo said. "We are playing a lot of internal matches to build the match-momentum. There is just a lot of enthusiasm in the team with less than 50 days for the Olympics to begin and we are not letting any external factor affect our excitement," she added.
Final 16 for Tokyo yet to be chosen
The selection of the final 16 players who will represent the country in Tokyo is awaited and Toppo said that there is no dearth of talent in the squad with several youngsters rising the ranks.
'There is a talented bunch of players to choose from'
Toppo said, "Over the past three years, a talented bunch of young players have made it to the senior core group who have really done well for the team in international tours, and have also gained experience of playing in the Asian Games and the World Cup." "So it's not guaranteed that any player has an assured place for the Olympics," she added.
Toppo had played at the Rio Olympics
Toppo has over 160 international caps and was also part of the team that represented India at the Rio Olympics for the first time in 36 years. She said that all the players will have to give it their all in every single session if they want to see themselves in the final 16 for Tokyo Olympics.
Toppo is hopeful of playing at Olympics a second time
Speaking of the prospects of playing at the Olympics for the second time, Toppo said, "It would be fantastic if I get to play in the Olympics for the second time." "But for now, my focus is to continue working hard and execute on a daily basis what is expected of me from the coaching staff," she added.
