Medal on radar of hockey team

Alberto Furlan, Hindustan Times

For the women’s hockey team, spending Diwali on a plane to China is a small sacrifice to make for glory at the Asian Games. “We can have Diwali when we come back, hopefully with heavier necks,” said chief coach, Sandeep Somesh, during a match between the women’s squad and Delhi players at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium on Tuesday.

“These are sacrifices that have to be made in sports, I’m sure other teams do them too,” said Somesh, adding India were “definitely in the medal bracket” for the Games.

“Malaysia, Japan and South Korea are our first matches, and they will decide where this will go,” added Somesh.

Assistant coaches, Pritam Rani Siwach and Sandeep Kaur, agreed India were strong competitors. “We will be aiming for a medal. If the girls play hard, we will definitely win something,” said Pritam.

Somesh said preparations hadn’t been ideal as the girls had been training for only 10 days since the Commonwealth Games,with disruptions by sponsor appearances and exams.

Two new faces will join the team’s trip to Guangzhou on Friday: 22-year-old defender Rosalind Ralte and 23-year-old goalkeeper Yogita Bali. While both have been to China before, the Games are the first major competition they’ll be taking part in.

Confident in their team’s training so far, Rosalind says she is looking forward to the local chowmein. After the medals, of course!