"Training with jackets in Bengaluru has helped us prepare for Tokyo" - Indian women's hockey team captain Rani Rampal
The Indian women's hockey team registered their second consecutive win of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics against South Africa earlier today. It kept their hopes alive for a quarterfinal qualification.
India defeated South Africa 4-3 with Vandana Katariya scoring a hattrick (4', 17', 49'). Neha (32') found the back of the net for India and helped the team clinch 3 crucial points in the competition.
India will make it through to the quarterfinals with a fourth-place finish in Pool A if Ireland loses or draws their match (later today) against Great Britain.
The Indians made an aggressive start to their final group match and earned a penalty corner in the opening minutes of the game. They kept attacking the South African goal and were rewarded promptly when Vanadna found the back of the net to give India a 1-0 lead.
South Africa struck back inside three minutes to level the scorers. The swinging trend of the game continued as India's lead were cut down twice more during the game. At the end of the third quarter, the score was 3-3.
The opening exchanges in the fourth quarter saw India earn a penalty corner. Gurjit Kaur carried in a drag-flick and Vandana deflected the ball into the goal, recording a hat-trick and sealing the victory for India (with a 4-3 scoreline).
What did Rani Rampal, Sjoerd Marijne, Vandana Katariya say post their thrilling 4-3 win?
After the match, a few players and the coach spoke to a handful of reporters, with Sportskeeda being one of them.
Captain Rani Rampal said:
"It was a tough game and South Africa put up a good fight. I think we could have done better defensively. We could have stepped up our game and conceded less than three goals. Now we just have to wait for the result of the match between Ireland and great Britain."
It was extremely hot and humid in Tokyo today. Upon being asked what special preparation was taken for this Olympics, Rani replied:
"When we were here in Tokyo for the Olympics test events, we knew it was going to be hot and humid during the Olympics. We did our training in Bangalore with our jackets on. Training in jackets has helped us now and that's why we got six points in such hot & humid conditions."
Coach Sjoerd Marijne said after the match:
"I expected an easier game today because the quality of match we played yesterday (against Ireland) was very good. We started off well today but we were poor defensively. We did well with the penalty corner and it was a good positive outcome. Defensively, we were one step less and gave them too much space. This kind of thing (conceding so many goals) puts a lot of pressure on the team."
When asked if he will watch the game between Ireland and Great Britain that will determine the faith of the Indian women's team, Marijne replied:
"I will not watch the game as its not good for my heart. I think I'll check the score at half time."
Vandana Katariya, who became the first Indian female hockey player to score a hat-trick in the Olympics, said:
"It's a team game and everyone from defense to offense contributed. It's not my individual effort to score the goal, it's a complete team effort."
Also Read: How the Indian women's hockey team can qualify for Olympics 2021 quarterfinals? Situations explained