Little did she know that history was in store for her and the team on Saturday. With England defeating Spain 2-1 in the semifinals of the Unibet EuroHockey Championships in London late on Friday night, the Indian eves made the cut for the 2016 Rio Olympics after a gap of 36 years.
Ritu Rani loves to lead by example. Being the captain of the women's hockey team, Rani wished her teammates good night before she tucked herself to sleep at the national camp in New Delhi on Friday.
Little did she know that history was in store for her and the team on Saturday. With England defeating Spain 2-1 in the semifinals of the Unibet EuroHockey Championships in London late on Friday night, the Indian eves made the cut for the 2016 Rio Olympics after a gap of 36 years.
However, even in this day and age of smartphones and instant updates, the team got the news only during training on Saturday.
"The England vs Spain match started quite late at night. We didn't stay up to watch it as we start our training at 7 am. At around 9 am, Oltmans sir (Roelant Oltmans, Hockey India high-performance director and head coach of the men's team) asked us to form a circle, like always. No one spoke for that short duration. We were as tensed as excited. It was either the end of the wait or a little more of it. Sir showed us the thumbs up, and we all went crazy for a few minutes," an elated Rani told dna from New Delhi.
The skipper was most relieved that the wait had finally ended.
"All that we've done since we finished fifth at the Hockey World League Semifinals in July is wait. There was always a feeling of uncertainly. The ladies team has done really well over the past few years and we didn't want to be part of a generation to have never played at the Olympics," the 23-year-old midfielder said.
A total of 10 out of 12 teams have sealed their place for Rio, and Rani is now focusing on the tough road ahead.
"Despite not being assured of a spot, we spent a lot of the time at the camp watching our opponents' matches from recent tournaments. Now that we've finally sealed our berth, we'll be taking these sessions much more seriously," Rani, who made her debut at the 2006 World Cup, said.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Indian women's hockey team last qualified for the Moscow Olympics in 1980, where they finished fourth
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