After attending a rigorous preparatory camp in June 2015, the Indian Junior Men and Women Team left today for Breda, Netherlands to participate in the Volvo International Men U-21 tournament, from 18th to 25th July.
The 18 junior men and women had been part of the core probable’s who had participated in an intensive training camp in June in New Delhi. Harjeet Singh will be the captain of the Junior Men team who is a promising midfielder himself, also captained the winning team in the Sultan of Johor Cup 2014 in Malaysia. In their first match, the Indian Junior Men U-21 team will clash against Germany, on 18th July. While the women team will be lead by star striker Rani Rampal, who is also one of the lead forwards of the Indian Women Hockey team. In the tournament, India will play their first match on 19th July against the Hosts nation Netherlands.
Junior Men’s team Skipper Harjeet Singh feels the recent preparatory camp has been beneficial for young lads and is hopeful for a good run in the tournament.
“Thanks to the intensive preparatory camp, we have been able to fine tune our attack and defense strategies. This time we also have new players, who have the capability to showcase superb dexterity with their sticks and excellent on field coordination. We are ready and well equipped for any challenges that the opponents might throw at us.” Harjeet said.
While Indian Women’s team captain Prior to the departure, said, “We have been training hard for this tournament and are looking to score our first win against Netherlands. We have worked on our weaknesses and have worked on the on-field strategy. It will be a challenge but the team is prepared well for the tournament and we want to come out as the superior opponent. ”