Indian women's team aims to put behind Asia Cup heartbreak, learn from mistakes, negatives to achieve WC qualification

New Delhi [India], October 5 (ANI): Following their silver medal finish in the women's Asia Cup after a loss to China in the title clash in Bihar, some members of the team spoke on their learnings and flaws in the continental event and expressed that they will prepare well for their qualifiers next year and learn from their mistakes.

Indian women's hockey skipper Salima Tete and forwards Navneet Kaur and Mumtaaz Khan, defender Udita Duhan and goalkeeper Bichu Devi spoke to the media following the conclusion of the final of the senior women's inter-department championship held in the national capital on Saturday, in which Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) emerged victorious over the IndianOil team by 5-1.

Speaking to the media on Saturday, skipper Salima said that while the team is very good and looks fit, they have to work well towards playing in the end phase. During the title clash, they lost to China 4-1, conceding three goals in the second half and two goals in the final quarter.

"As a captain, I would like to say that our team is very good. We are very fit. You must have seen it in the matches. However, we have to work more in the end phase. Also, we did not have a drag-flicker. We have a camp starting from 12th October, and we will also prepare for the Hockey India League, and after that, we will prepare for our WC qualifiers. We will also work on our fitness," said the captain.

Salima, who represented the Railways in the final, lauded the Indian men's team for their direct qualification to the 2026 Hockey World Cup with a 4-1 win over South Korea in the finals, saying, "Many congratulations to them. They will do even better. They performed very well in the Paris Olympics last year, and we want them to win all the tournaments."

Forward Mumtaaz and defender Udita, both IndianOil players, also spoke to ANI. While Mumtaaz highlighted that the team needs to adopt a "never give up" mindset, Udita commended China for being the better team from which the Indian team learns a lot.

Mumtaaz said that during the Asia Cup, the team only had one goal: to win the gold and earn a direct World Cup qualification.

"But we conceded goals in the final, and whenever we concede goals, we just give up. We do not have to give up. If our opponents are the best, so are we. We will try our best in our coming matches," said Mumtaaz.

She also lauded Salima's captaincy, saying that she leads from the front and is available to everyone.

Mumtaaz expressed pride over the men's direct qualification for the World Cup, saying that even though the women's team has not got to win medals at the Olympics, seeing the men's team get those Olympic medals in Tokyo and Paris and achieving the direct WC qualification makes them proud.

"We always watch their matches. We feel very proud that our boys are winning medals. They are winning back-to-back medals (in the Olympics). We are also trying to win medals for our country. Especially in the Olympics. But we are really happy to see them winning medals," she added.

Udita spoke on the team's Asia Cup final loss to China, saying that they are Paris Olympics silver medallists and a "better team".

"We get to learn a lot from them. We will focus on where we are lacking, attend our camp and focus on WC qualification," she added.

Udita spoke on the inter-department tournament as an opportunity to learn something and pass that on to the Indian camp.

"You can learn from anywhere. I think. In domestic, there are a lot of players. There is still a lot of difference between domestic and international level. Many players are very skilful. How to tackle them? We get to learn from them. If we take that knowledge to the camp, it is a benefit for us," she added.

She also said that as so many young women attend academies and junior competitions, the senior team have to be "role models" for them and be at their best in these tournaments when they are not wearing Indian colours.

Speaking on the success of the men's hockey team and their direct qualification for the next year's World Cup, Udita wished them luck and said it is the men's team which brought hockey back to prominence.

"It is not easy to win a medal at the Olympics, and they qualified for the WC directly. I hope that they will win the World Cup. We learn a lot from them," she added.

Forward Navneet Kaur also hailed the success of the men's hockey team, saying that the rise of the nation's hockey feels good, no matter if success comes to men's or women's.

"When the men's team or the women's team goes up, we feel happy. We are very happy that our men's team is doing so well. We are always proud of them. They always play so well and win medals for India," she said to ANI.

Goalkeeper Bichu, while speaking to ANI, spoke on how team India missed the presence of senior players, particularly the drag-flicker Deepika and goalkeeper Savita, in the competition.

"We did not have any senior players; one or two players got injured, like Deepika, our drag flicker. Our main plus point was that we could score in the penalty corner. We had youngsters. In the final match, we saw that we lacked experience," she added.

On the Indian men's team's direct qualification to the WC, Bichu was all praise, saying that while hockey was kept suppressed for long, it is the men's team's consistency which has brought both teams back to the limelight again.

"We are happy with their achievement. They are showing the growth of hockey. They are winning medals in the Olympics. Our men's team have made both their own and women's team famous. I would like to thank them," she concluded. (ANI)

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