NDTV Exclusive: Savita Punia, Salima Tete On India's Historic Hockey World Cup Finish, Asian Games Hopes
India's women's hockey team has ended a 52-year wait for a top-five finish at the World Cup. After beating Germany 3-1 to secure fifth place, captain Salima Tete and veteran goalkeeper Savita Punia spoke exclusively to NDTV.
India's women's hockey team has ended a 52-year wait for a top-five finish at the World Cup. After beating Germany 3-1 to secure fifth place, captain Salima Tete and veteran goalkeeper Savita Punia spoke exclusively to NDTV about a campaign that featured 11 World Cup debutants, the evolution of a young team and the impact of coach Sjoerd Marijne. Savita admitted Australia remains a painful "what if", while Salima revealed how the support of her teammates drives her. With the Asian Games next, India are already looking ahead - with LA 2028 qualification firmly in sight. Here are the excerpts from the interview:
RICA ROY: Savita, Salima, many congratulations on your historic fifth-place finish. It has come after 52 long years. First up, your reactions, Savita.
SAVITA PUNIA: Definitely, it feels good to get this result after 52 years.
At the same time, we are emotional because we played very well throughout the tournament. There was one match against Australia where we needed just one goal where we didn't play well.
It's not that Australia played exceptionally well. Yesterday, we were emotional because even while I was in the goal, I was thinking that if we had played at 50 per cent of our level against Australia, maybe we would have played the semi-final.
This was my third World Cup. There are 11 players in my team who played in a World Cup for the first time. It is definitely a good achievement for us. Without experience, you can't achieve anything quickly.
But the new players, especially the young players, performed beyond what we demanded of them. That is definitely good motivation for us. We are making good progress.
I can say that the future of Indian women's hockey is very bright because we are now on the right track.
RICA ROY: Salima, I will call you a very brave captain because, as Savita said, you went into the campaign with 11 new players in the side. With this young bunch there are many memories you would have made, tell us about one or two moments that you will always remember.
SALIMA TETE: Bichchu (Devi) and Savita (Punia) always say, "We need you." That always motivates me. I know that my game is good and my speed is good.
They always tell me, "Salima, I need you today." It motivates me because my team supports me so much. I just have to play and give my best. Nothing else.
Every player supports me, like Savita and Bichchu. Every player tells me that they need me. Even the junior players say, "Sister, you have to play more."
That motivates me. If I play, the team will do better. It is very important to be a supportive player.
If you have a good team, a good coach and good staff, and everyone is doing their job, then I also have to do my job honestly. Everyone makes an effort in the game. That is very important for us.
RICA ROY: Savita, like Rahul Dravid is called the Wall of Indian Cricket, you are called the Wall of Indian Hockey. We saw your relationship with Bichchu on the field. Can you call her your ideal successor, and that you are grooming her at the moment?
SAVITA PUNIA: I think Bichchu can answer that question better. But yes, definitely.
I have always had the same idea. My father always tells me that Bichchu and I have been in the same team for a long time. He also tells me that Bichchu and her family want their daughter to play well.
Hockey has given me a lot, so I want to do my best. That is what I try to do.
We are each other's strength on the field. Very few goalkeepers have such a relationship. We know that we are each other's competitors, but when we play for the country, I feel like if I make a save, Bichchu feels like she has made the save too.
That connection is very important. It creates a strong bond. It doesn't matter to the opponent who is in goal.
It doesn't matter to us whether I start or Bichchu starts. I think we have grown a lot in this. It is not just about this tournament.
We have worked hard for four or five years. We continue to push each other in training, and we are together in good times and bad.
She is like my younger sister. I always want her to do her best. Even after I leave, I want her to play for India.
RICA ROY: Salima, Savita tweeted yesterday that this is a headline moment for Indian hockey. Can you tell me about the contribution of your coach Sjoerd Marijne in this headline moment?
SALIMA TETE: Yes, absolutely. Our coach directly tells us, "I need this from you." That is a good thing for us.
I have speed and Sunelita has speed. Our coach directly tells us that if something is good for us, we have to use it for the team. He tells every player to play with positivity.
If something is good for me, I have to do it for the team. That is the motivation the coach gives us. He always coaches with positivity.
Even after we make a mistake, he gives us instructions. It helps both the team and the players. After making a mistake, players can get demoralised. But the coach always has a word or two of encouragement even in the lowest of moments. He says." Next time, you will do this well." There is no gap in communication.
RICA ROY: Is Sjoerd speaking in Hindi with you guys these days or you guys are speaking Dutch?
SAVITA PUNIA: We have taught him some Hindi.
He understands a lot of words. He says everything in English, but in the end, he says," Samajh gaye?"
Sjoerd has been with us for four years through good times and bad times.
He saw our Tokyo Olympics. When he was away from us, he knew that our performance had fallen and that we were already out of the Pro League. We didn't qualify for the Paris Olympics.
But when he came, he came with a good vision. He didn't hurry at all. First, we worked on our fitness.
After that, he met all the players to understand their strengths. I think when a coach wants to improve the environment, he believes in team bonding.
We have worn a band for Unity. Sud made it for us. We feel very special. He does a lot of things to unite the girls, like he gave us an unity band. Earlier he had given us crystals.
He does for the team, whatever makes the girls feel special. We believe in each other because he believes in us.
The best thing is that our team's environment is good. You can see that on the field.
RICA ROY: The Asian Games are next month. How difficult is it for a team to peak in successive months?
SALIMA TETE: We have to focus more on the end phase. We have time. We will go to Bangalore in a week or two and work on that.
We have to keep possession of the ball. We will focus on that. We will keep the ball closer to us and work on moving from right to left. We will train for that.
We also have to work on our PC attack. If my ball goes well, we will definitely score. We have to hit the ball where the stopper is.
We don't have much time, so we will focus on what we have.
RICA ROY: Savita, the most difficult opposition in the Asian Games will be China. Can India win the gold medal?
SAVITA PUNIA: For us, three to four days of recovery is very important.
We have already played two matches in Germany and four matches here. We played six matches in this tournament. Hats off to my team. They played so well.
The credit goes to our fitness team. Right now, the focus is on recovery and nutrition.
We will definitely get feedback from this tournament. We will continue doing what we have done well.
As Salima said, we will be training for the Asian Games in Bangalore for a week and then for some time in Japan. Our focus will be on the areas where we can improve.
When you do something well, you have to work even harder. It is not only about China.
This is my fourth Asian Games. I have won bronze, silver and bronze. No medal was easy. We had to fight for every medal.
It is not only about China. We have learned that we have to focus on ourselves.
We respect every opponent - Malaysia, China, Japan, Korea and all the other teams. We played a close match with Thailand in the last Asian Games. That team had nothing to lose.
You can't take any match easy. We have confidence in ourselves. We have to focus on ourselves, and our coach will tell us what to do.
We have played some good matches against China in the last few years. That is good motivation. China must have seen India is improving.
But we can't take it easy. They will come with a different plan. That is why we have to work even harder to win the medal. We have to qualify for LA. Most importantly, we have to take it match by match.
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