South Africa: The Indian Junior Women’s Hockey team led by Salima Tete is all geared up for the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup which gets underway on April 1st. Having patiently waited for this moment, after the coveted quadrennial tournament was postponed from December 2021 due to the omicron threat in South Africa, the Indian team’s dressing room is filled with excitement ahead of their first match in Pool D against Wales on April 2nd.
The Indian team will begin their campaign against Wales on April 2nd followed by their second Pool D match against Germany. They will take on Malaysia in the third match and will hope to play the quarter-final on April 8th while the Semifinals and final will be held on April 10th and 12th respectively. “Definitely the team is confident of putting up our best performance. We are well-prepared and have a good mix of experienced players. Our aim will be to take it match-by-match, get off to a good start and play as per plan,” said Captain Salima Tete, who was one of the youngest members of the Indian Women’s Team that finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
The Indian team also played two warm-up matches against England and Netherlands, both games ended in a draw. “We played 4×10 minutes warm-up matches against England and Netherlands. It gave us insights into the areas we need to prioritize. We were creating many chances but didn’t convert enough. However, the fact that we have all been in the National program for the last 3-4 years helps us understand each other’s game well and overcome setbacks if any. We look forward to a good start,” Vice-captain Ishika Chaudhary said.