The Indian women’s hockey team is unfazed to take on tougher teams at the upcoming FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifier 2024, asserted captain Savita Punia following a successful campaign at the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2023.
The Qualifiers is scheduled to be held in Ranchi from 13th to 19th January,
Eight national teams are divided into two pools, with the Indian team placed in Pool B alongside New Zealand, the United States, and Italy, while Pool A consists of Germany, Japan, Chile, and the Czech Republic.
During the Pool stage of the Olympic Qualifier 2024, each team will face every other team in their respective group once. The top two teams from each group will then progress to the semifinals scheduled for 18th January. The final as well as the third/fourth place match is slated to take place on 19th January. Notably, the teams that will finish in top three at the Olympic Qualifiers will secure the qualification for the Paris Olympics.
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“We are confident in our abilities, and the rankings of opposing teams don’t faze us as we are ready to face all the tough teams that will be coming to India for the Hockey Olympic Qualifier,” Indian Captain Savita said of the upcoming tournament.
When asked about the probability of facing Germany during the later stage of the tournament, she said, “We played Germany in July, so we know what we’re up against.”
Chief coach Janneke Schopman echoed Savita’s confidence, saying that there was a lot to learn from the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2023, where they went undefeated against Japan, China, Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand.
“A lot of things went well for us, but there are always areas where we can improve. We need to avoid unnecessary cards and make better use of our referrals. Similarly, with our attacking style of play, we have to face a lot of teams that play with 11 players behind their 25-yard line and we have to get better at creating opportunities playing against a closed defence,” she added.
“This tournament showed we are a tough team. So, we will continue to focus on ourselves, look for ways to improve and leave no stone unturned in our preparation for the Olympic Qualifier 2024. We are familiar with New Zealand, we played the United States as well in the FIH Pro League last year, but most importantly I am happy to take on these tough teams at home,” Schopman elaborated on the preparations.
The top three teams each from Ranchi as well as from Valencia, Spain Qualifiers will join hosts France, Australia, the Netherlands, China, Argentina, and South Africa at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Germany, at 5th, is the highest-ranked team participating in the Olympic Qualifier 2024. New Zealand is ranked 9th, followed by Japan at 11th, Chile at 14th, the United States at 15th, Italy at 19th, and Czech Republic at 25th.
Meanwhile, the victory in Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2023 has catapulted the Indian team back to its best-ever ranking of sixth in the world. With the Olympic Qualifier 2024 set to be held in the same venue, the Indian Eves can count on the unwavering home support to encourage them again.
“The support we received in Ranchi spurred us on. Home crowd can be an added pressure sometimes but we were mentally prepared. Janneke advised that such occasions come by rarely and that we should embrace them. The residents of Ranchi turned up in droves and we couldn’t let them down, we had to put on a show for them. The team knows that we will receive the same backing during the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifier Ranchi 2024 as well and if people are coming to support us the onus is on us to repay their faith,” the captain signed off.
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