Indian women's hockey team has in it what it takes to secure a podium finish in Glasgow Commonwealth Games if it performs to its full potential, striker Rani Rampal said here today.
19-year-old Rampal, who has earned 111 international caps so far, was speaking after the training session of the Indian team at the University of Edinburgh's Peffermill sports complex.
"If we do our best we can definitely win a medal. It all depends on our performance and how we manage on the day of the game. In India, so many people have expectations for us to do well in these Commonwealth Games and we also hope we can do our best because if we do well, then people will be happy," she said.
The 16-member Indian women's hockey team arrived in Edinburgh last week to prepare for the July 23-August 3 Games. India play their opening match against Canada on July 24.
Chief coach Neil Hawgood said the team had a useful tour of Malaysia before coming here and the players were confident of doing well in the Games.
"We had a really good tour to Malaysia where we played and won six tests but that was more about finally being able to play a six-test series where we could just go and experiment with our structures and our style," she said.
"We walked away not worrying about the results but knowing that if we get things right we can compete and if we can compete we have the chance to win."
The women's hockey competition in the CWG will feature 10 teams divided into two groups. India are placed along with Canada, New Zealand, Trinidad & Tobago and South Africa in Group A.
Scotland, Australia, England, Malaysia and Wales are in Group B. The top two sides from each group will go forward to the semi-finals.
Following their match with Canada, India play New Zealand on July 27, Trinidad and Tobago on July 28 and South Africa on July 30.
