With the Indian women's hockey team making rapid strides at the world level with significant performances in major tournaments over the past three to four years, former India goalkeeper Helen Mary believes the Rani-led squad is poised to create history in Tokyo.
"The way they played in Argentina recently, even though they couldn't register a win against the world no.2 squad, the style they played and the confidence they showed while playing against the home team on their home ground, was something I have never seen in them before," said Helen.
Helen who had closely worked with the Indian women's team ahead of the Rio Olympics as their goalkeeping coach said the Rani-led squad should just focus on fine-tuning their game and continue to remain confident in the weeks leading up to the Games in July.
"The way they played in Argentina and Germany recently, I feel they are 90 per cent ready, some fine tuning of their game in the upcoming weeks and I surely believe they can create history in Tokyo. The tri-colours will fly high in Tokyo," the former India goalkeeper said during a conversation with Hockey Te Charcha, a podcast series launched by Hockey India in the lead up to the Olympic Games.
"I have seen them (Rani & Co) working really hard over these years and even when they are on a break, I have seen them constantly working on their fitness. They are extremely focused, and they are doing so well in the lead up. My only advice to them is to be safe, because you are so close to achieving your dream," she added.
Helen made her international debut in 1992 when she was picked to play against Germany.
In her career spanning over a decade, Helen contributed to the team's success at several top international tournaments including the historic Gold medal in 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, Gold in 2004 Asia Cup, Silver at 1998 Asian Games and a Gold at the 2003 Afro-Asian Games among several other feats.
Drawing comparison to the support system they had during their hay days to the current Indian set up, Helen said, "There is a stark difference in how the teams train today and how we trained. The approach they have now is very scientific and it's great that the team has a big support staff who look into every small detail right from fitness, diet, recovery to workload every week.
"Everything is planned in advance and each player's progress is mapped on a day-to-day basis. I sometimes regret that we didn't have this kind of systematic approach when we played."
Helen also got candid about her own journey in hockey and the role legendary player and national coach MK Kaushik played in grooming some of the top players in the country. Helen fondly recalled, "He was our godfather. He was responsible for molding our careers. When we used to step foot on the hockey pitch, we used to feel so proud that Kaushik sir was there watching us and in his eyes we could never fail," she said.
( With inputs from ANI )
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