Upbeat India take on South Africa in women's HWL

The team led by Rani arrived here one week prior to the tournament which has helped them in their preparations.

Getting acclimatised to the conditions in the host city which is at an altitude of 1,753 metres was easier thanks to the high-altitude training held in Sports Authority of India (SAI) Centre Shillaroo before arriving for the event which is also a World Cup Qualifier. "We had some good short training sessions here over the past week and the girls did well. They did not tire easily which was one of the main reasons to have the high-altitude camp. We have one session planned today (Friday) on the game pitch which will count as our final preparation before the start of the tournament," India's chief coach Sjoerd Marijne said on the eve of the match.

The Indians also played two practice matches against England and Ireland.

"Both teams are physically dominating when they play. So, the exposure against these two teams before the start of the tournament was good. I personally think South Africa plays a lot like Ireland.

"We controlled the entire game against Ireland and against England we did well first half with better control. It is important for us to play disciplined hockey and if we are able to do that then we have a great chance of doing well," Marijne added. India have Chile, USA, Argentina apart from South Africa in their pool.