Indian hockey team working on key aspects at national camp, says Nikki Pradhan

Indian women’s hockey team defender Nikki Pradhan is one of the team’s most experienced players. Having played 112 matches, Pradhan knows the nuances of the game as well as what it takes to build a winning mentality within the Indian team.

After a high of the Tokyo Olympics, where the Indian women’s hockey team finished fourth, – their joint best finish at the quadrennial Games – they are back at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) campus in Bengaluru for a national camp. The camp is to help them prepare for the upcoming season.

Nikki Pradhan said the focus of the national camp will be on a few aspects which the Indian team had faltered in during the Tokyo Olympics.

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The 28-year-old expressed that the national hockey team is working on a few aspects which they have noted down during the Olympics.

“It’s very important for us to learn from our mistakes and we are focussing on all the mistakes we made at the Tokyo Games during our current national camp. It’s great to be back in camp after a break and building ourselves as players again. We noted down some key aspects during the Olympics that we need to work on and we are working on each one of them one by one.”

Indian hockey team’s target is to be the best: Nikki Pradhan

The Indian women’s hockey team is in good stead and is poised to reach greater heights, having set a benchmark at the Tokyo Olympics. Nikki Pradhan opines that the team’s target is to be the best side in the world. She said:

“We are definitely looking to win as many tournaments as possible. Our number one goal is to be the best side in the world and we still have a long way to go. We are going to take it one tournament at a time and focus on building our skills on the pitch. We definitely have the talent to take on any side in the world at the moment.”

Talking about the positives the team has taken away from the Tokyo Olympics, Nikki Pradhan believes that the Indian hockey team’s determination and belief has set them apart and has instilled a new-found confidence within them. She explained:

“I think the way we fought against the best teams in the world showed our hunger and determination to do well at the biggest of stages. However, we still have a lot to prove in the future. It’s very important for us to build on our fantastic performance at the Tokyo Games and keep becoming better as a side with each match we play in the future.”

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