Indian women’s hockey team captain Salima Tete and defender Jyoti Ramavat spoke to Khel Now on the sidelines of a hockey event in Delhi.
Having just recently returned from a difficult tour of Australia; the Indian women’s hockey team will next be in action in the European leg of FIH Pro League, where they must produce good results against three of the top five in women’s hockey rankings to finish in the top half of the league.
India are currently in sixth place in the Women’s FIH Pro League standings and next face Australia (7th), Spain (4th), Belgium (2nd) and China (3rd) in the final leg of the competition. They managed just two wins in eight matches in the home leg and were recently beaten 1-4 in the Test series in Australia, which included four straight defeats—two of them against Australia A.
Despite the poor run of results, captain Salima Tete and defender Jyoti Ramavat are confident of putting on a good show in London, Antwerp and Berlin, where the final leg of FIH Pro League is scheduled to be held. Salima, who also captained the junior national team to a silver medal in Youth Olympics, put down the result of the Test series against Australia to squad experiments and trying new combinations and strategies.
Here’s what both players said in an interaction with Khel Now on the sidelines of an event in Delhi. Excerpts from the interaction below:
Can you tell us about your hockey journey so far?
Salima Tete: The journey has been very good so far. Coming from a village, it was especially hard because our parents didn’t know much about what children should do or how to support their careers. But my family stood by me, and I started playing hockey because of my father. They helped me reach where I am today, and for that, I am deeply proud of my parents.
I have a younger sister who also plays hockey, and we are now in the camp together. Life is full of challenges, and even when you struggle, you need to do good work. Hard work is important, but so is belief. I believe that struggle is essential in life. If you have reached somewhere through struggle, it is nothing less than a blessing from God. Struggle makes you stronger and is a necessary part of life.
Jyoti Rumavat: I started playing hockey in 2010 when I was 11 years old. I made my debut in the junior camp in 2014, and later, I made my senior debut in 2019. When I first started playing, I was a striker. Then, I switched to midfield, and now I play as a defender.
What are your thoughts on the inaugural season of the Hockey India League?
Salima Tete: We are very happy and excited since the registrations for the season have also opened now. We had a great experience in the first season. We played well and enjoyed it a lot. This is a wonderful initiative by Hockey India, and this time, it’s going to be even more exciting for the players with two new teams. We’re especially grateful for the strong support we’ve received from Hockey India.
Also Read: Indian women’s hockey team announced for European leg of FIH Pro League 2024-25
Thoughts on India’s recent tour of Australia and lessons learned from a tough away series
Salima Tete: The series against Australia was a good experience. The coach used the tour to also give opportunities to junior players, which is a great step looking forward. While some matches didn’t go as per our plans, we’re constantly working on improving ourselves and hopefully that’s showing in our performance.
Australia are a strong team and so are India. Whether we win or lose, what truly matters is how we respond to it, what positives we can take from the result and what we learn from it. That’s always been our focus. Looking ahead, we will be facing Australia in the FIH Pro League again. Our preparation is going really well, and we will try to perform even better this time and aim for a good result.
Jyoti Rumavat: When we went to Australia, we were already informed that we would be playing practice matches. The approach in practice games is a bit different from competitive matches, so we took that opportunity to try out new strategies and combinations. We also had some new players in the squad, and it was important to see whether they could compete at the international level.
Overall, it was a very positive experience for us. We improved with every match. Australia are a very strong team, especially at home, but we kept progressing step by step. In fact, we won the last match, and I would like to give full credit to the focus and effort of our team. We held regular team meetings, watched and analysed our matches together.
Next year will be crucial for Indian women’s hockey, especially with the Asian Games and Olympic qualification at stake as well as the FIH Pro League. What are your plans?
Salima Tete: Absolutely, the Asian Games is very important because if we win gold at the Asiad, we will qualify for the Olympics directly. So that definitely will be our first aim, and we will give our best to qualify. Our priority will also be on the Pro League as we will be facing four good teams and will want to put out good performances there.
Jyoti Rumavat: Right now we have Pro League; after that we are playing Asia Cup and next year there is World Cup and Asian Games, so our focus is on those small details which we should work on, which will help us in improving the team and bring the team closer to a medal, so we are working on those individuals aspects right now.
What’s that one exercise that you hate and one which you really enjoy doing in the training?
Jyoti Rumavat: Long running is very tough for me as it is difficult to do, and I like to work out in the gym and don’t like long running sessions at all.
How do you spend your time away from hockey?
Jyoti Rumavat: Apart from hockey, I like reading books, and sometimes I like to go out to the mall with my friends, just for window shopping.
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