Tokyo Games delay gives us one more year of experience to win Olympic medal: Namita Toppo

Experienced midfielder Namita Toppo feels the Indian women's hockey team is fortunate to not have any ageing player and "one more year of experience" due to the postponement of Tokyo Games will only help its Olympic preparation.

The Tokyo Games was pushed back by a year due to the fast-spreading COVID-19 pandemic but Namita said it hasn't changed their goal of winning an Olympic medal.

"Our target was always to win an Olympic medal, and even with the postponement, that does not change. It definitely gives us more time to be prepared for next year, and to perform really well," said Namita, who has 165 international caps under her belt.

"I feel our team is also fortunate enough to not have any ageing players, and this group of players has been playing together for a long time, and I believe one more year of experience will only help us in achieving our goal."
"It increased my recovery period. It was tough because I would keep thinking if I would ever make it back to the squad. But I spoke to my teammates who had spent similar periods on the treatment table, and I would get some sort of strength."