Tokyo Olympics a great chance for Indian women`s hockey team to script history, says goalkeeper Savita

Ace Indian hockey goalkeeper Savita on Tuesday (June 16) said that 2021 Tokyo Olympics will "surely" be a great chance for the Indian women's hockey team to script history. Savita, who started her career around 12 years ago, said that though she is a veteran as compared to several other players but her best is yet to come.

"It is a funny thing that when I first started off, my self-belief and passion for the sport was really less as compared to other people. However, with time, I started falling in love with the sport, and I truly believe now that the best for me is yet to come," Savita said in a statement.

"...When I say my best is yet to come, it is because my goal is to perform exceptionally for my team at the Tokyo Olympics and make sure that I can put the nightmare of Rio (Olympics 2016) behind me. I think our team was really raw at that point of time, and we did make a few mistakes. However, 2021 in Tokyo will surely be a great chance for our team to make history," she added.

Currently, both Indian men`s and women`s hockey teams have been stationed at the Sports Authority of India Campus in Bengaluru. It is to be noted that hockey players hjave resumed sporting activities after a long break due to coronavirus outbreak. Taling about the break from training, Savita said that the period taught her patience and given her more reasons to value even the small moments.

"I have always been a very quiet person who is mostly calm, but I believe that the time we spent during lock-down has really taken my patience level to a new high. We were all very comfortably placed here in SAI Centre, Bengaluru with our teammates and support staff, and I think it gave us the chance to really connect with each other as well," Savita said.

"I think in circumstances like these, you really start to wonder about the `what could haves` and the `what ifs`, and that is when you also realize how important even the small moments are to each of us. For me, I have missed my family a lot, but I have also been very, very happy that they are all safe and healthy, and that once I go back home, I will really be valuing those moments a lot," she added.