India's hockey captain Rani Rampal said it is 'surreal' to have qualified for Tokyo 2020 after beating the USA 6-5 on aggregate.

The first leg of the qualifier saw India win 5-1, although the US nearly turned things around to clinch the Olympic place after they won the second match 4-1.

But captain Rampal scored the vital goal in the defeat to send her side to Japan next summer.

Following the victory, she said: "I managed to keep my composure during the turn and finish. It was a surreal experience when I was hugging my teammates with joy.

"When I was stepping onto the field with just 15 minutes remaining, I was a little sceptical because I felt like we cannot let our hard work of three years come down to this. 

"But when I finally got the ball inside the striking circle, I knew I had some space ahead of me, and I just focused on keeping possession and getting my basics right."

Rampal believes her team have dramatically improved from the Rio 2016 Games where they finished in 12th place.

"We did not have a great tournament in Rio, but we got the experience of playing at an Olympic Games," she added.

"Currently, we have 10 players in our squad who were a part of the team that participated in Rio, and with the huge improvements that we have made to our game since then, I am really confident of targeting a podium finish in Tokyo."