Bengaluru, Sep 01, 2022, IANS

Bengaluru, Sep 1 (IANS) The Indian women's hockey team has seen a steady rise in its performances since the Tokyo Olympics 2020 and recently brought home the Bronze medal from the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The National team stunned the entire world with a brilliant show at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 and then backed it up with a third-place finish at the FIH Hockey Pro League 2021-22.

Speaking about the great performances put up by the team in the last year, Indian women's hockey team midfielder Monika said, "It's been really heartening to see the way our team has risen in the last year. And I feel the biggest plus for us has been the emergence of many young players such as Lalremsiami, Sharmila Devi and Salima Tete. They have worked tremendously hard and have made many important contributions to the team."

Monika also said that the National team has a great balance at the moment, "I think having a good core of experienced players is very important for any team and we have been lucky to have that. However, it's been great to see the youngsters take full responsibility of their own games and have also looked to make an impact in every game we play. Our team has a fantastic balance of youth and experience."

When asked about the National team's immediate goal, Monika said, "Right now, our full focus is on the FIH Hockey Women's Nations Cup. We had a great experience at the 2021-22 FIH Hockey Pro League and we are very determined to play in the tournament once again. We will certainly look to play to our full potential at the FIH Women's Hockey Nations Cup and ensure that we qualify to take on the world's best teams in the next edition of the FIH Hockey Pro League."