New Delhi: The Indian women hockey team arrived early morning on Monday at the Indira Gandhi International airport, New Delhi to the sounds of celebratory drums and loud cheers. A large contingent of officials and media gathering was present at the airport to receive the team, which finished 5th at the FINTRO Hockey World League in Belgium. The result has kept their hopes alive for a place in the upcoming RIO Olympics 2016.

An excited, CR Kumar, Coach said, “We knew we had to be in the top five to stay in contention for the Rio Olympics. The last two games were very crucial for us and the girls kept their cool despite the huge expectations and pressure on them. The younger players specially played really well and I can confidently say that the future for women hockey in India is very bright.”

Speaking post the arrival, goalkeeper Savita said, “The match against Japan was very crucial for us. We knew it was our last shot to qualify for the Olympics at Rio, so we had to play to our strengths. During the successive penalty corners in the last quarter, it was the effort of the entire team which helped in defending our lead. I think everyone was aware that we had to safegaurd the sole goal we scored and we did it beautifully. If we qualify for RIO it will be a dream come true. "

Star forward, Rani Rampal said, “Qualifying for the Olympics has been a dream for all of us. The team chemistry of the players, on field coordination and coach’s guidance helped tremendously in registering the previous two successive wins. I cannot wait to start the next phase of training for the Olympics.”

The Indian skipper, Ritu Rani said, “Our target was to qualify for Olympics and we are still in contention. All the players played to their strengths. We played against some of the higher ranking teams, which gave us insights on our shortcomings. We will work on them to improve our game play and be ready for our Olympics dream. "