Introspection has already been done, Indian women’s hockey team senior midfielder Sushila Chanu said on Wednesday, saying the need of the hour is to start with a fresh approach and work on the gray areas in their last two tournaments.
India finished a disappointing ninth in this year’s FIH women’s category World Cup in July but won her first Commonwealth Games medal in 16 years by winning bronze in Birmingham.
Indian women are training at the national camp here ahead of their next big assignment – the first FIH Nations Cup which will be held in Valencia, Spain from December 10-17.
“We have a lot of time at SAI to introspect on our performance in the last tournaments – FIH Women’s World Cup and Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games,” Sushila said in hockey. India release.
“We are now training with a fresh approach and focusing on the areas in which we fell short during these two outings.”
In the Nations Cup, a qualifying tournament for the 2023–24 FIH Pro League, India are placed in Pool B along with Canada, Japan and South Africa while Ireland, Italy, Korea and Spain are placed in Pool A.
The 30-year-old from Manipur is a veteran of 220 international caps and was also the captain of the team at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Despite being a legend, Sushila knows it would be a big mistake to replace her, as many young players make their presence on the pitch late.
“There is a group of youngsters who are giving their 100 per cent in training every day and it is good to see that they inspire us to do well too. Of course, as seniors we cannot take our place in the team because we also need to show that we are ready to play big tournaments.
“I think this internal competition is good for the team and we are moving in the right direction,” she said.
Sushila also stressed on the importance of fitness in modern hockey.
“Working on fitness and speed has been a priority for us and is our main focus in this camp as well.
“Playing with good pace and optimum fitness level was our plus point during the Olympic Games, which helped us achieve good results. When we play one-on-one matches in the Nations Cup, fitness will be the key to our performance.”
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