CHENNAI : A few of the women’s hockey players were asked to ‘settle down’ by their family members before the pandemic struck in 2020.
All of them struck a deal. After the Olympics. Multiple members of this squad had below par performances in 2016 so they were desperate to show what they were capable of in Tokyo.
They are now 60 minutes away from one of the greatest feats ever achieved by an Indian women’s team in any sport. Standing between them and a place is the final is Argentina.
Even though this isn’t the Argentina side of old -- they have multiple world and Olympic titles to their name -- they have recovered well to reach this far after losing the first match.
Going purely on paper, Las Leonas are favourites. Unlike the Indians, they are used to matches like this. But you would have to be brave to completely rule out another surprise.
Rani Rampal & Co have form on their side, winning three matches on the bounce. What also sets them apart is the way they handle pressure and big moments.
One only needed to see the second leg of their Olympic qualifier against the US (they won 6-5 on aggregate) to realise this.
They have worked with psychologists throughout the last three years so the question of belief is never a problem.
They not only believe this is their stage but think they can go one better.
And while they may not have the big game experience, they can more than bridge that with a drive to succeed as well as the skills to take on the best in the business.
As they showed against Australia, they can maintain defensive shape, hassle opponents into making mistakes as well as score from set pieces.
In Gurjit Kaur, they have a champion dragfl i cke r who relishes responsibility. Saying that, Argentina will be a different test.
They play a more physical game and considering the match is in the evening, heat will be less of a factor.