“Winning the Tokyo Olympic medal is the ultimate goal” Neha Goyal

The 23-year-old Indian Women’s Hockey Team Midfielder Neha Goyal expressed her visions on behalf of the Indian Women’s Hockey team,

“Our sole focus is on the Tokyo Olympics at the moment. We have been working hard on our fitness in the last few months, and we will do everything we can to keep getting better at our game in the next few months.”

Filled with zeal, she reckoned, that 2019 was great when the team won the FIH Women’s Series Finals and confirmed their listing in Olympic through the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers. She said that the team had performed very well even against the top teams, and they have a firm belief that they can create history next year in the Olympics, and their ultimate goal is to win a medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

Goyal, who has experience of 75 matches so far, takes inspiration from the former Indian captain Pritam Rani Siwach. The 23-year player started playing hockey when she was in the fifth standard. Speaking about her inspiration, she told how she was encouraged by the former captain Pritam herself, and how she admired Pritam’s pictures in the local newspaper and went to the ground every day to watch her play. One day when Pritam asked her why she visits the ground every day, Goyal expressed her wish of playing the game. Remembering the hardships, Goyal talked about the financial problems she had to face in her initial days when her parents couldn’t afford the game’s equipment. At the time, Pritam provided her with the equipment and supported her to pursue hockey.

Neha Goyal and the entire Indian Women’s Hockey Team are working hard to realize their dream with their eyes on the goal.