Germany tour will add value to Olympic preparations: women's hockey captain Rani

The four-match series starting Saturday will be the Indian women's team's second assignment in 2021.

Rani Rampal emphasised that the matches against Germany will test every aspect of her team's game.

The Argentina tour was a confidence-booster, but the matches against Germany will add value to India's Tokyo Olympics preparations, said women's hockey team skipper Rani Rampal.

The four-match series starting Saturday will be the Indian women's team's second assignment in 2021. "Argentina tour helped us gain confidence. These back-to-back tours in a short span are like golden opportunities for us. We are just months away from the Tokyo Olympics, and these matches against top teams will help us finding loopholes and gain momentum before the Games," Rani said on the eve of the series opener against the world no.3 side in Dusseldorf.

 

The skipper emphasised that the matches against Germany will test every aspect of her team's game. "It is going to be a different experience than the Argentina tour. From our skills to fitness level, everything will be tested. That's what we as a team want. It will be a challenging tour for us, considering we will be playing back-to-back matches," Rani said.

 

"Our priority, for now, is to get into that competitive frame of mind. The experience of playing against a top team like Germany will add value to our preparations for the Olympic Games." The second game of the series will be played on Sunday, followed by the final two matches on March 2 and 3.