The 25-year-old expressed that playing in the Olympics has been a childhood dream for her and she will leave no stone unturned to make her experience wonderful at the Tokyo Olympics.
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Indian women’s hockey team forward Navneet Kaur will be a part of the Tokyo Olympics, marking her first appearance in an Olympic campaign. The 25-year-old has played 79 matches for the national team so far. She termed playing in the Olympics as a childhood dream, which she is very pleased on getting an opportunity to fulfil. Navneet stated that she would leave no stone unturned to make the experience as wonderful as possible.
“Playing at the Olympics is my childhood dream and I will leave no stone unturned to make it wonderful. With experience comes responsibility. I have already played 79 games for India and the focus is now on leading from the front. The team has been sweating it out at the national camp in Bengaluru and we are going to have a memorable outing in Tokyo,” she said as quoted by the official website of Hockey India.
“I come from Shahabad Markanda. It’s a small town in Haryana but plays a huge part in the development of the sport of Hockey. My teammates Rani and Navjot Kaur have also trained at the Shahabad Hockey Academy. I remember when I came back to Shahabad after winning the Bronze medal in the Junior Women’s Hockey World Cup in Germany, 2013, people welcomed us with all their hearts. There was a grand procession in Shahabad, people were dancing and celebrating as if they had won,” added Navneet.
The attacker stated that she always had a desire to play hockey.
“From the beginning, I was sure that I wanted to play Hockey. I made my debut for the senior India team in 2014. The fans started appreciating our efforts after some tremendous performances in the 2018 Women’s World Cup, Asia Cup, Asian Games and Asian Champions Trophy. I feel proud to be a part of such a team. This team is like a family. Rani and Savita keep exchanging their ideas with us on how we can improve together as a team. It is crucial to have a clear mindset on matchday. The coaches and the entire team are working towards that goal,” said the forward.
Navneet backed the Indian women’s hockey team against the strongest of opponents, terming their habit of fighting till the last minute of every match as a vital factor.
“A lot has changed in the mindset of our team in the past few years, we don’t fear the stronger opponents anymore. Earlier, when we used to play against the Netherlands or Great Britain, we used to panic. That’s not the case now. We fight until the final whistle. It’s not over until it’s over,” she signed off.
The Indian women’s hockey team will be soon seen competing in its second consecutive Olympics in Tokyo. Chief coach Sjoerd Marijne has expressed a desire to see his players adopt a fearless attitude when they take the court. “I want them to play freely. I expect them to give their 100 percent in their matches. I expect them to play fearlessly. If all this happens, results will follow,” he said in an interaction with ETV Bharat.
