The opening of the year could not have been better. Indian women’s hockey team broke the Covid-19 induced lull with the recent tour of Argentina (World No.2). In five days’ time from now, the Indian field hockey angels will be locking horns against Germany (World No.3). Two successive high profile Series, should help the girls obtain the extra that is needed to win a medal at Tokyo. The Rani-led squad of 18 players and seven staff leaves Bengaluru tomorrow for Dusseldorf.

India will play four matches in the Germany Series between 27th and 4th March.

“We feel privileged to travel in a short span to play yet another top team in the world. Germany will be one of the favourites at the Tokyo Olympics and to test our level against them will really help in our preparations. Hockey India and SAI worked swiftly to ensure this tour was sanctioned and I thank them for making this happen,” stated Indian Women’s team Chief Coach Sjoerd Marijne.

Following their experience against the Argentinian side, the Indian Women’s team had returned to SAI, after a brief break, for the National Coaching Camp where they planned to focus on the areas that needed improvement basis their performance analysis. Marijne believes playing against a team like Germany who play with a different style will only challenge the team further to improvise.

“We have to make the most of every opportunity we get to play against these higher ranked teams. Germany plays with a very unique and different style compared to Argentina and this will help us prepare for the Olympic Games. Also, since these are back-to-back matches, our level of fitness will also be tested,” Marijne opined.

Indian Women’s Team Goalkeeper, Savita: “Back to back tours, playing the top ranked teams will be beneficial in our preparations towards the Tokyo Olympics 2021. This will be another opportunity for our team to try out various players in different formations. We look forward to playing these matches against a top team like Germany and I believe this will not just be an enriching experience for the team in terms of experience but this will also test our fitness levels as we are coming from a long tour of Argentina.”

“The facilities in Argentina were fantastic. In these circumstances, we can’t be too demanding either. The priority will be safety of players and we will be following all rules in Germany and SOPs provided by Hockey India,” Marijne added.

The team members will not be moving out of the bubble and meeting any third-party source as even while travelling to the match/training venue the team will be travelling in a dedicated transport. The local resources along with the team eg. Team bus/coach, drivers, support staff will all remain the same throughout the tour to avoid any lapses in any way possible. There will be no movement for members to move out of the hotel except for training and match days.

The entire Indian contingent has undergone a Covid-19 RT-PCR Test 48 hours prior to their entry in Germany. The team will be following all safety and health measures as advised by the respective Governments of India and Germany. Further the teams will also be following the Hockey India SOPs as available on the Hockey India website.

GOALKEEPERS
SAVITA (V.C.)
RAJANI ETIMARPU

DEFENDERS
DEEP GRACE EKKA
GURJIT KAUR
UDITA
NISHA

MIDFIELDERS
NIKKI PRADHAN
MONIKA
NEHA
LILIMA MINZ
SUSHILA CHANU PUKHRAMBAM
SALIMA TETE
NAVJOT KAUR

FORWARDS
RANI (C.)
LALREMSIAMI
NAVNEET KAUR
RAJWINDER KAUR
SHARMILA DEVI