New Delhi: India women’s hockey team chief coach Sjoerd Marijne is banking on a mix of overseas tours, competitive exposure and national camps to ready the side for the World Cup and Asian games this year.
The World Cup is scheduled to be held in Belgium and Netherlands in August, while the Asian Games will take place in Japan in September.
The Indian women’s team will compete in the FIH Hockey Nations Cup in Auckland from June 15 to 21. They are also scheduled to tour the United States and Argentina, and play matches against Germany and the Netherlands.
“We have a tour to USA and Argentina, the Nations Cup in New Zealand, and practice matches in Germany. We will also play some matches in the Netherlands,” Marijne said.
“These scheduled games combined with our camps set us up for a very good mix of matches and training to be ready for the World Cup and Asian Games.”
India have been placed in Pool D alongside England, China and South Africa.
China are the top-ranked side in the group at world No. 4, followed by England at No. 6, while India and South Africa are ranked ninth and 19th respectively. “This is a very competitive and balanced pool. There are teams like England and China that bring different styles and a lot of experience, while South Africa is always unpredictable and dangerous on their day,” he said.