"Lacked Fitness": India Women's Hockey Captain Salima Tete's Brutal Confession Amid Downward Spiral

Caught in a downward spiral of reverses since the historic fourth-place finish in the Tokyo Olympics, Indian women's hockey team captain Salima Tete on Wednesday attributed it to the lack of fitness and mental toughness. After creating history in Tokyo in 2021, the team failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics this year and also performed poorly in the last FIH Pro League. "Yes, of course we were disappointed but we can't think about the past and need to move forward. We should move on because if we don't move on, we can never win a match," Salima told PTI in an interview ahead of the women's Asian Champions Trophy in Rajgir, Bihar from November 11 to 20.

"It was very difficult for everyone, not just for me but for everyone in the team. But we have worked on it." The journey, since the failure to qualify for the Paris Games, wasn't easy under new chief coach Harendra Singh. But Salima said those setbacks have taught them a big lesson.

"We had to start from the beginning. We had to start from the scratch. And fitness was an area that Harendra sir had pointed out and which needs a lot of work," she said.

"It was our mistake that we didn't work on fitness. But since sir came, we have worked a lot on our fitness. In today's level, if you don't have fitness, you can't play hockey because it is a fast sport and you need fitness." Salima said the entire squad now realises the importance of fitness.

"We do work on our strength. I also noticed that we were not able to lift so much weight. The girls are now squatting more than 100kgs. This shows that we are working on our fitness. This shows that we are getting better." Harendra understands the significance of mental aspect of the game and that was precisely the reason the Indian