Tokyo Olympics a great chance for Indian women's hockey team to make history: Savita

The Indian Women Hockey Team's ace Goalkeeper Savita believes that the next year's Tokyo Olympics will "surely" be a great chance for the team to make history.

Savita has been a rock at the back for the Indian team for the past 12 years but feels that her best is yet to come.

"It is a funny thing that when I first started off, my self-belief and passion for the sport was really less as compared to other people. However, with time, I started falling in love with the sport, and I truly believe now that the best for me is yet to come," Savita said in a statement.

"...When I say my best is yet to come, it is because my goal is to perform exceptionally for my team at the Tokyo Olympics and make sure that I can put the nightmare of Rio (Olympics 2016) behind me. I think our team was really raw at that point of time, and we did make a few mistakes. However, 2021 in Tokyo will surely be a great chance for our team to make history," she added.

Currently, both men's and women's teams have been stationed at the Sports Authority of India Campus, Bengaluru.

As hockey teams resumed sporting activities after a long break caused by the coronavirus-enforced lockdown, Savita said that the period taught her patience and given her more reasons to value even the small moments.

"I have always been a very quiet person who is mostly calm, but I believe that the time we spent during lock-down has really taken my patience level to a new high. We were all very comfortably placed here in SAI Centre, Bengaluru with our teammates and support staff, and I think it gave us the chance to really connect with each other as well," expressed Savita.

"I think in circumstances like these, you really start to wonder about the 'what could haves' and the 'what ifs', and that is when you also realize how important even the small moments are to each of us. For me, I have missed my family a lot, but I have also been very, very happy that they are all safe and healthy, and that once I go back home, I will really be valuing those moments a lot," she added.

Commenting on the return of hockey in some countries, Savita said that her team is really raring to go.

"We have been doing our homework for the past couple of months where we have been studying and analyzing various aspects of our's and our opponents' game. It has been really good to hear about the return of hockey in some countries including New Zealand, and I speak for my entire team when I say that we cannot wait to get back to playing competitive hockey against the top nations," Savita said.

( With inputs from ANI )