Aim is to keep improving to be world No. 1: Hockey forward Shamsher

Shamsher, who played a crucial role in India's bronze medal-winning campaign at the Tokyo Olympics recently, said, "We still have a lot of targets to achieve as a team. We have ticked off the target of winning an Olympic medal, but we have been striving to be the best side in the world in the last few years.

"We are going to give everything we have in every match we play in the future, especially in big tournaments such as the FIH Hockey Pro League. We are confident that if we keep improving match by match, then one day we will surely be the World Number 1 team," said Shamsher.

Shamsher said that he was fortunate to have had the chance of playing in the biggest sporting event during the nascent stage of his career. The national side defeated Germany 5-4 in the Tokyo Olympics bronze medal match on August 5 to end a 41-year Olympic medal drought.

"The Tokyo Olympics is always going to hold a special place in my heart. I am so lucky to be part of an Olympic bronze medal-winning team at such an early stage of my career. I also know that this is just the beginning for us as a team. We have the belief that we can do even better in the future and we are going to work towards our goals in the upcoming years," said the forward, who scored a goal against Japan in the Tokyo Games.

On the one thing that helped the Indian team make history in Tokyo, Shamsher said, "I think it was our never-say-die attitude on the field. Even when we were behind in the game against Germany, we never stopped believing in our chances and kept looking to create goal-scoring opportunities. We knew that if we kept putting pressure on the opposition, we will be on the winning side in the end and that's what eventually happened," said the 24-year-old.