Leaders of Indian Hockey share their preparedness and self-beliefs in the webinar "Hockey@Tokyo"

Bhubaneswar, July 1: At a time when great hopes are pinned on both the Women’s and Men’s National Hockey Teams for the upcoming Olympics, Tata Steel organised a webinar today on “Hockey@Tokyo”which was addressed by Rani, Captain of Indian Women’s Hockey Team; Manpreet Singh, Captain, Indian Men’s Hockey Team, Sjoerd Marijne, Chief Coach, Indian Women’s Hockey Team and Graham Reid, Chief Coach, Indian Men’s Hockey Team. The event was organised in association with the Sports and Youth Services Department, Government of Odisha, Abhinav Bindra Foundation and Odisha Naval Tata Hockey High Performance Centre (ONTHHPC) to congratulate the Women’sand Men’s hockey teams for participating in the Tokyo Olympics 2021. The discussion centered onexpectations from the team, their preparedness, and the role of being mentally strong for being winners. Rani, Captain, Indian Women’s Hockey Team, said, “Since childhood it has been my dream to represent India in hockey. There is no greater satisfaction than leading your national team in the Olympics. As a team, we are committed to give our 100% to the game. Women’s hockey has come a long way and it is good that people are expecting from us. My message to the young people would be to believe in yourself the most. If you won’t then no one else will. Do not make your challenges as excuses in life, but try to overcome them and your perseverance will make sure you will find support in your journey that will help you move forward and achieve your goals.”      Manpreet Singh, Captain, Indian Men’s Hockey Team, said, “Seeing my elder siblings win medals for India has inspired and motivated me to take up hockey. This pandemic has brought our team closer, and has given us more time to hone our skills and strategy. We have taken it in the positive spirit and are very confident of our chances in Olympics. We are focused on winning the gold medal for India.” Vishal K Dev, Principal Secretary, Sports &Youth Services, Government of Odisha in his message for the teams said, “There is no greater stage in world hockey than the Olympics and I want to congratulate the entire men and women’s squad who will be representing India at Tokyo. While it is a proud moment for the entire nation, it is also a huge opportunity for you all to play to the best of your potential and achieve your Olympic dream.