Women’s hockey team skipper Rani Rampal on Monday said securing India’s passage into the 2020 Olympics with her decisive goal in the qualifier was a “surreal experience”.

Rani scored the all-important goal during the recent clash against USA in the FIH Olympic Qualifiers in Odisha as India narrowly beat the visitors 6-5 on aggregate.

“I managed to keep my composure during the turn and finish. It was a surreal experience when I was hugging my teammates with joy,” said Rani, recalling her goal.

Sceptical

“When I was stepping onto the field with just 15 minutes remaining, I was a little sceptical because I felt like we cannot let our hard work of three years come down to this.

“But when I finally got the ball inside the striking circle, I knew I had some space ahead of me, and I just focused on keeping possession and getting my basics right.”

The qualification done, a podium finish at the Tokyo Games is possible considering the long strides the team has taken in the last three years, asserted Rani.

India lost the second of the two-game contest 4-1, but qualified courtesy the team’s comprehensive 5-1 win in the opening encounter.

Interestingly, in 2015 when Indian the women’s team qualified for the Rio Olympics after a gap of 36 years, it was Rani who had played a key role in the decisive victory against Japan. The team, though, failed to make a mark at the com

However, Rani said that her team has improved vastly since Rio. “We did not have a great tournament in Rio, but we got the experience of playing at an Olympic Games.

“Currently, we have 10 players in our squad who were a part of the team that participated in Rio, and with the huge improvements that we have made to our game since then, I am really confident of targeting a podium finish in Tokyo.”

Earlier this year, we took part in the Olympic Test Event and we won the tournament convincingly. But the other positive was that we got a good experience of playing in those conditions, and that will help us in preparing well for the 2020 Games,” added Rani.

The Indian women’s team is currently on a break and will regroup for a conditioning camp, which begins in Bengaluru from November 18.