Indian women's team leaves for Hiroshima to play FIH Women's Series Finals Hiroshima
With eyes set on for a berth in Olympic Qualifier later this year, Indian women's hockey team left for Hiroshima in Japan to play in the FIH Series Finals from June 15 to 23. Incidentally, the Indian men's team made an impressive start in the FIH Men's Series Finals at Bhubaneswar by registering 10-0 and 3-1 wins over Russia and Poland in its first two games. The finalists of the FIH Series Finals will get berths in The Olympic Qualifiers.
The women's team led by ace striker Rani left from the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, in the early hours of Saturday for this important event. "We go into this tournament with a lot of confidence we carry from our recent tours in Spain, Malaysia and Republic of Korea. Our performance has been on the rise over the past year and the fact that many of us have been playing together for quite a few years gives us an edge," said Rani on the eve of the team's departure.
It was a historic moment for the Indian women's team when it qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. The last time Indian women played in Olympics was in Moscow in 1980. "It was for the first time that India had qualified for the Olympics. We did create history but we certainly don't want it to be a one-off qualification. Our team is capable of repeating it again and we will aim to finish on the top in this tournament," asserted Rani.
India is grouped with Poland, Uruguay and Fiji in Pool A while 18th Asian Games Champions Japan, Chile, Russia and Mexico are grouped in Pool B. India starts its campaign against Uruguay on June 15. India will need to finish among the top two to qualify for the Olympic Qualification event later this year.
