The Indian women’s hockey team will travel to Australia for a five-match series which will start on May 18 and run till May 27. India will play Australia in the first three games followed by two matches against Australia A. The matches will be held at the MATE Stadium in Adelaide, South Australia.
It will be a challenge for the Indian eves as Australia are way superior to them in many aspects and are ranked third in the world. The tour will serve up as a warm-up event for the Asian Games in Hangzhou which will take place in the September-October window.
Ahead of the tour, Indian women’s hockey head coach Janneke Schopman is happy with this opportunity as she feels that it will be an opportunity for the team to understand where they stand. He highlights how it can be an event to warm up ahead of the Asian Games and assess the areas they need to improve.
“Playing Australia in Australia will help us assess where we are compared to the top of women’s hockey. More importantly, the series will be crucial for our preparations for the Asian Games in China as it will give us ideal exposure while helping us reckon the areas where we need to make improvements and changes. So, it’s a very important tour for us strategically,” Schopman stated.
The Indian team are in great form since winning the FIH Women’s Nations Cup in 2022 when they defeated Spain to lift the cup. Later they travelled to South Africa and won the first three matches against the hosts. The last match ended in a draw and they also lost to the Netherlands in the same tour. But those three wins against South Africa, (5-1, 7-0 and 4-0) will surely give them confidence to beat teams away from home.
In recent times, the Indian eves have given a tough fight to the Australias. India held Australia to a 1-1 draw at the end of regulation time in the Commonwealth Games semifinal match. Although the Aussies defeated India 3-0 on penalties, it was still a commendable effort from the girls.
The women’s team are currently working hard in training at the Sports Authority of India facility in Bengaluru. Schopman is trying new strategies and also looking to fine-tune the team before they travel to Australia.
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