The midfielder/defender echoes the sentiments of all the troops when she says they are excited by the prospect of going to Rio although Hawgood has yet to make his final cull.
"We're practising twice as hard but we're prepared to go three times harder to prove to him that his hard work will not be wasted."
Thakur found traction with a hockey stick when she was 12 but it helped that her elder brother, Bhupinder Singh, was a PE teacher who coached at her school.
"I was in a safe environment and my father was very supportive," she says, realising at the 2006 World Cup she could make a career of it.
She's aware her team are in a critical stage to not only promote India's No 2 sport but also impress that girls should have equal opportunities with boys if not be better than them.
She thanked Hockey India president Dr Batara for allowing foreign coaches to help and not be one dimensional.
Gold in Rio is the goal.
