For India’s Rani Rampal, the 12th place finish in Rio only served as motivation to get better

Unlike their male counterparts, the Indian women’s hockey team, led by the experienced Vandana Katariya, had left for Australia with no fanfare. They quietly flew there on November 14 to play a three-match Test series against Australia (also known as the Hockeyroos).

Ranked 12th in the International Hockey Federation’s world rankings, the team was faced with the uphill task of taking on Australia, placed way above them in the charts at fourth place. Fresh from their title win in the Asian Champions Trophy, the Indian team, however, was brimming with confidence.

The tour might have ended on a sad note for them as they lost the series 2-1, but they did not go down without a fight. They shocked the Hockeyroos in the first match as ace midfielder Rani Rampal scored in the second quarter to give her team a 1-0 win.

They, though, lost the second match 1-4 and the decider 1-3 to lose the series but the tour would serve as a huge confidence booster for a team that was thrashed 6-1 by Australia on their way to a last-place finish at the Rio Olympics in August.

Also, the series will be remembered for the fight put up by the team especially Rampal, the captain Vandana Katariya and Deepika, who was adjudged player of the tournament for her stellar show.

Scroll spoke to captain Katariya and Rani before they left for Australia. Here are the excerpts:

‘Need to work hard on penalty corner conversion’: Rani Rampal

How were the preparations before the team travelled to Australia?

We camped in Delhi for ten days for the Test series Down Under. The preparations have been good but could have been better, had it not been foggy in the national capital. The team also camped at the Central Regional Centre of Sports Authority of India in Bhopal before moving to Delhi. The camp helped us in ironing our flaws and preparing for the Asian Champions Trophy. We will be back in Bhopal after touring Australia.

What was the motivating factors after Rio?

We finished last in the Olympics. We really did not perform to our potential on the biggest stage and that was hurting us to a great extent. So we decided to start our preparations for the next Olympics by first winning the continental event (read, ACT). We did that and it has lifted our morale.

How good did it feel to win the Asian Champions Trophy?

It was matter of great pride for us as we proved ourselves the best in Asia by winning the tournament. As our male counterparts had already lifted the trophy, our win gave double joy to the country.

How difficult is playing against Australia in their own backyard?

You cannot take any team lightly at this level. Australia are a good team but we have put a lot of hard work for this series. They might have defeated us 6-1 in Rio but the win in the Asian Champions Trophy has given us a lot of confidence. Playing Australia is a challenge and we are up to it. I believe we can give them a tough competition.

What aspect does the team still need to work on?

These days, most of the matches in field hockey are decided by penalty corners. We have always felt the need for improving our conversion rate and we have really worked hard on that aspect of the game.

‘Rio brought us closer’: Vandana Katariya

Like Rani, her captain Vandana was also hurt with team’s dismal show in Rio. The pain of finishing 12th in the world’s biggest sporting extravaganza gave her the strength to fight her way back in and lead team to the title in the women’s ACT.

Did the debacle at Rio play a part in the win at the Asian Champions Trophy?

We lost badly in the Olympics. The next event was ACT and as our men’s team had already won the tournament, we wanted to lift the trophy to erase bitter memories of Rio and start fresh for the next Games.

What did the team take away from Rio?

Failure in Rio was a learning experience for us. It brought us even more closer as we now were united in our cause of winning tournaments and playing good hockey against top nations.