The Indian Women’s Hockey team, with its eyes firmly set on the Paris Olympic berth, arrived in Ranchi, Jharkhand on Wednesday evening for the looming FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers 2024.
Captained by the seasoned goalkeeper Savita, the team begins their campaign on January 13th against the United States, a rematch of their thrilling 2019 encounter for a ticket to the Tokyo Olympics.
Upon arrival, captain Savita said, “We are excited to be back in Ranchi for the all-important FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers 2024. Last time we were here for the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy, the home crowd supported us a lot and we thoroughly enjoyed playing here. We are looking forward to starting our campaign and interestingly our first match is against the USA with whom we played the previous Olympic Qualifiers. I am sure it will be an exciting opening match and we look forward to a good start to our campaign.”
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Placed in Pool B, India will face New Zealand on January 14 and Italy on January 16. The knockout matches are scheduled for January 18 and 19.
Pool A includes Olympic silver medalists Germany, former Asian Games champions Japan, Chile, and the Czech Republic. The top three teams from the tournament will secure their tickets to the Paris Olympic Games 2024.
Despite the upbeat mood, the team suffered a minor setback with experienced forward Vandana Katariya, also named Vice Captain, being ruled out due to an injury. Youngster Baljeet Kaur, who has impressed in recent outings, will replace her. Local star Nikki Pradhan, the first female hockey player from Jharkhand to represent India at the Olympics in 2016, takes over as Vice Captain.
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Chief Coach Janneke Schopman acknowledged the setback but expressed confidence in the team’s depth: “It’s unfortunate that Vandana won’t be playing. She sustained a cheekbone fracture during training and needs rest. While we’ll miss her experience, Baljeet has earned her chance to step up, and Nikki will provide crucial leadership as Vice Captain.”
On January 13, India will take on the United States at 5:30 p.m (IST) as it looks for a third consecutive Olympic qualification.
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