New Delhi, Sept. 4 -- Athletes don't have the luxury to stop," says former India hockey captain and ace goalkeeper Savita Punia. "You have to think of the next step, the next match, the next tournament. Win or lose, you keep going."

As exhausting as that may sound, in tough times, the promise of a bright new day is a boon. That's what the Indian women's hockey team is chasing.

After the highs of Tokyo in 2021, where India finished a historic fourth at the Olympics, the hockey team has gone through a period of turbulence. They failed to qualify for the 2024 Paris Games and endured changes in leadership-from Sjoerd Marijne to Janneke Schopman to Harendra Singh in a span of three years. Having escaped relegation last season, India suffered...