The Hindu: India has acclimatised well for HWL: Marijne

The team is geared up to make a good start

The Indian women’s hockey team’s chief coach Sjoerd Marijne has asserted that his team are fully geared up to make a good start in the upcoming Hockey World League Round 2. India plays its first match against Uruguay on April 1.

On arriving from a different climatic condition in Bhopal, where the team had trained since January 14, to 7 degrees in West Vancouver which has seen a few spells of rain in the past week, the team has gotten used to the conditions and are geared up for a good start, stated Marijne.

“We had 10 days to acclimatise and get used to the weather. The difference is about 27 degrees. But the girls have gotten used to this and are ready for the start of the tournament,” stated Marijne.

The three-nation tournament earlier in the week against Canada and Chile had also helped the team cope with the weather conditions and get a good rhythm ahead of the HWL.

“It is always good to get a few matches before the start. Since this is a short tournament, every match is important and there is no reason why we cannot get off to a good start. I have a lot of confidence in the team and we are ready to make a winning start,” expressed the Dutchman.

Speaking about Uruguay as an opponent, Marijne said they are a team that played with a lot of passion. “We have seen them play twice so we know a little bit about them. They typically play the South American style like Argentina and there is a lot of passion. But we must focus on our own game,” he stated.

Skipper Rani also said the team is upbeat and eager to get on with the tournament. “I believe we have had a good start to this year with a series win against Belarus. Though the results in the two matches we played here against Chile (2-2) and Canada (1-3) didn’t go in our favour, it helped us get used to the weather.

“We found it tough initially as it is cold and rained at times but the team has gotten used to it now,” stated Rani.