The Hindu: Women’s hockey team felicitated

The forced rest has given the players time to recover before the series that would see at least four-five faces from the junior ranks making their debut.

The Indian women’s hockey team has been in the city for a few days now but instead of getting crucial training under their belt, the girls have been sitting in their hotel rooms and waiting to fly away to Australia for a three-Test series on Sunday.

The team returned from Singapore after winning its maiden Asian Champion Trophy but pollution in the city forced it to abandon its practice sessions. The team did try and train for an hour on Tuesday but cut it short after several girls complained of breathing problems and were unable to exert themselves.

“We knew things were bad by talking to our families back home but had no idea it was this bad! Coming from Singapore it was a shocker for us, some of the younger players have a bad throat and cough ever since we landed in Delhi,” admitted goalkeeper Savita Punia, one of the senior players at a felicitation programme organised for them by the sports ministry.

The forced rest has given the players time to recover before the series that would see at least four-five faces from the junior ranks making their debut.

“Since the girls would not be participating in any competition for the next four-five months, this Test series is important for exposure. The girls are excited and a good performance in Australia immediately after the ACT would be a big morale booster for them,” coach Neil Hawgood said.