We have a well-settled unit, says Indian women's hockey team vice-captain Savita

After being drawn against the USA in the upcoming FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers, Indian women's team goalkeeper and vice-captain said that the side is a well-settled unit and every member of the team understands each other's game.

Before the qualifiers, the team will embark on a tour to England.

"Most of the players selected for our upcoming tour of England have played together as a unit for a long time now. We have a well-settled unit as we understand each other's game pretty well which will further help us against the USA at the Olympic qualifiers," Savita said.

"It has been our aim to qualify once again for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 after having qualified for the 2016 edition after a gap of 36 years. We are all very determined about succeeding in the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers Odisha and the upcoming matches against Great Britain will be good preparation for that," she added.

India was drawn with the USA in the FIH Olympic Qualifiers Odisha earlier this week on Monday when the draw took place at the headquarters of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The team is scheduled to play five matches against Great Britain in Marlow, England, from September 27-October 4 2019, and the goalkeeper believes that they will get to face a side similar to that of USA.

"Great Britain and the USA have quite similar playing styles, and all of us are really pleased that we will be playing against Great Britain before the two huge matches in November. The girls have been sweating it out in training for the past two weeks, and I am really confident that we will be able to execute our plans well. We have some really experienced players in our squad and the ones who have recently come in are full of talent and potential, so I am really looking forward to a great couple of months for us," Savita said.

"When it comes to the goalkeeping options also, Raj (Etimarpu) and I have been playing together in the team for a long time now, and we support each other with our game. We are really close to each other as well, and it also helps when she gives me inputs by watching me play, and I do the same for her when she is playing. We enjoy each other's success and that is the most important thing in a team sport, and hopefully it will help our team in qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 later this year," she added.

The 18-member Indian team for the tour to England is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Savita (vc), Raj Etimarpu

Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka, Gurjit Kaur, Reena Khokhar, Salima Tete

Midfielders: Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Nikki Pradhan, Monika, Neha Goyal, Lilima Minz, Namita Toppo

Forwards: R (c), Vandana Katariya, Navneet Kaur, Lalremsiami, Navjot Kaur, Sharmila Devi.

( With inputs from ANI )