Fitness will be key to India's consistency in run-up to Tokyo Olympics: Marijne

Fitness will be key as the Indian women's hockey team eye consistency in the run-up to next year's Tokyo Olympics, chief coach Sjoerd Marijne said on Saturday.

Having qualified for the 2020 Olympics earlier this month, the Indian women's team is now gearing up for the upcoming tournaments, starting with a tour of New Zealand in January next year.

"We have chartered out our plans for the next seven months and we have a clear vision of what we need to improve on and the level we seek to achieve ahead of the Olympics," Marijne said.

"While we play some very good teams in the lead up to the Olympics where we look forward to achieving consistent performance, it is very important to keep the players' minds and legs fresh.

"We have decided to be based out of SAI, Bengaluru all along because this feels like home for us and every minute aspect such as the environment we train in, and support system we have here plays a major factor in our preparations."