Rio was bad, but Tokyo Olympics will be good: Savita Punia

India women's hockey goalkeeper insists poor outing in Brazil four years ago has left the team wiser and ready for a better show in Japan

Just as goalkeeper PR Sreejesh has been the backbone of the Indian men’s hockey team’s defence for over a decade, the women have been well served by Savita Punia under the bar.

With over 100 international caps across the last 10 years, goalkeeper Punia, 30, is one of the most experienced players in the Tokyo Olympics-bound Indian women’s team and hopes to make it count this time, unlike the poor outing the team had at Rio 2016. “We did not have a good tournament at Rio. We made quite a few mistakes, and I don’t want to even remember it now. It was the first Olympics for all of us and while we were proud that the Indian women’s hockey team had qualified for the Games after a gap of 36 years, we lacked the experience to perform on the biggest stage,” Punia said during a virtual media interaction recently.

At Rio, the Indian women lost four matches and drew one, failing to qualify for the knockouts. This time though there is no shortage of guidance given the team is a good blend of youth and experience, insists Savita. “In this team, there are eight of us, who were part of the Rio squad. We experienced the difference between playing practice matches and playing a match at the Olympics. We probably failed last time as we were over-thinking or could not handle the pressure. So, the eight of us have been constantly sharing our Rio experience with the rest of the team members to try and help ease their pressure or calm the nerves,” added Punia, an Asia Cup gold medal-winner and 2018 Jakarta Asian Games silver medalist.

Punia said that the senior players ensure they interact with the juniors as often as possible. “We [senior players] try and talk to the younger girls after every training session. We tell them that we did not have anyone at that time [in Rio], who could guide us, but they now have us whom they can chat with in detail to understand what it’s like to play at an Olympic Games. The girls understand this well and have been working very hard over the last few years. The Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown has also brought us closer as a unit. We are determined to do well this time and ensure it will be a good outing at the Tokyo Olympics,” added Punia.

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