A legend of the Indian women's hockey game and the former captain of India, Rani Rampal is an institution and she believes India have the potential to win the Asian Games gold in 2026 and gain a direct qualification for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
Qualifying for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 is the big challenge for the Indian women's team ahead and Rampal felt the way to LA will be through Aichi-Nagoya in Japan where the Asian Games will be held.
"Before LA28, we have to focus on Asian Games 2026 and from there we can directly qualify if we win gold. The thing is if you qualify directly from the Asian Games, you will have more time to prepare and pressure will be a little less. If you go through the Olympic qualifying rounds, then the pressure will build up a lot. It will be a do or die situation from thereon. I think the team is doing quite well under Harendra Singh. Still we have a couple of years to go for the Asian Games. By then the team will improve even more and I'm sure our team will qualify for LA after winning the Asian Games and we will do well in LA also,'' Rampal added.
The 29-year-old Rampal retired from the sport in October after a decorated career where she represented India in 254 internationals at the senior level.
In an exclusive chat with The Free Press Journal, Rampal was also quite happy with the performance of the Indian team at the women's Asian Champions Trophy.
"I think team is performing quite consistently now in the last five matches. We are getting to see a good team combination in attack and defence. So I think we are on a good platform for the Asian Games 2026. We have to first try to become the best team in Asia. These are the good matches for the juniors for exposure so that we don't feel its new all of a sudden to play these big teams,'' she added.
Talking about India's strengths, Rampal felt Indian women were now playing attacking hockey.
"Right now, India is playing attacking hockey and creating a lot of chances. We can score goals only when we create a lot of chances and opportunities. Otherwise, it becomes difficult if we don't create chances. I think team is quite fit. India scores most of its goals in the third quarter. We are converting penalty corners quite well."
The former skipper revealed that beating Australia in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics quarterfinal by a 1-0 margin was the finest moment of her career.
"I've had many memorable moments in my career of 16 years. If I could mention one or two great moments it has to be the Tokyo Olympics. We came really close to a medal but still ended up being far. Beating Australia in the semifinal, that was the finest moment I would say. Leading the team in the Olympics when we finished in the fourth place. I think that was an honour for me,'' she added.
Rampal felt it was an honour for her to captain the Indian team.
"I always used to believe that whenever I captain, I will lead by example. I will set a good example where even the other players will follow you when you are doing the right things. I believe that whether you are the captain or not, you have to always give your 100 percent. The flag that you play for is more important than anything else. We all represent the country and nothing bigger than that and all players have to be on the same page with regard to that. Even if we lose, people will say that India lost and if we win people will say that India has won. So no individual wins and no individual loses. It was all about team and playing as a team."