Ranchi, Jan 1: India's women hockey captain Ashunta Lakra hardly imagined she would one day literally step into the shoes of her brother Bimal Larkra when she took the hockey international's old pair of shoes to practice on the Astroturf ground here.

"I took my brother Bimal's old pair as practising without a pair of good shoes can lead to injuries on Astroturf grounds," Ashunta told PTI in an interview.

"Those days it was difficult even to pay hostel fee regularly, let alone buying a pair of good shoes which cost about Rs 1000," she said.

Giving credit to her international hockey playing brothers, Bimal and Birendra, for inspiring her to take the game, she made her debut with a bang when she became a part of the Indian under-18 girls team that lifted the Asia Cup in 2000.

Eleven years later, Ashunta has literally stepped into the shoes of her famous brothers going one step further to become the captain of the women's national side. Now the midfielder's focus is on the six-nation tournament in Delhi as it is the last chance for her team to qualify for Olympics.

"We are ready and geared up to give our best in the tournament scheduled in February. Only the team finishing at the top can visit London for the 2012 games," she said.

PTI