Hockey News: Indian Captain Savita reflects on the journey to the historic Commonwealth Games Bronze

The India squad returned to India after spending two months in Europe to compete in FIH Pro League, FIH Women's Hockey World Cup and Commonwealth Games.

The Eurotrip was a rollercoaster of victories and heartbreak. India played their final FIH Pro League matches in Belgium and Netherlands in June, finishing ninth at the FIH Women's World Cup. 

India later competed at the FIH Women's World Cup in Spain and Netherlands, but the campaign ended on a disappointing note as they finished at the ninth spot alongside China.

India began their Commonwealth Games campaign with consecutive victories against Ghana (5-0) and Wales (3-1), followed by a 1-3 loss to England. They advanced to the semifinals after beating Canada 3-2.

The Indian squad gave a spirited performance against Australia to send the match into a shootout but lost 3-0. They secured a 1-1(2-1) victory against New Zealand after Savita made three excellent saves.

They finally made history as Indian goalkeeper Savita led the Indian squad and showed incredible resilience to win their first Commonwealth Games medal in 16 years.

While talking about the two-month-long Europe tour, Savita said, It was a pretty long tour, there were ups and downs, but it taught us a lot of things."

She further added, "It is not just a medal for us. It is an inspiration. The younger generation will also get inspired by this. We are grateful for all the support and love our fans have given to us throughout our campaign in the World Cup as well as the Commonwealth Games."

The Indian women's hockey squad will now be aiming to win the gold at the Asian Games to secure a direct entry to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The 2022 Asian Games have been postponed by one year following a surge of covid cases in the host city of Hangzhou, China. Savita shared that India will be using the postponement as an opportunity to prepare for the tournament with a step-by-step approach.