The Indian women’s hockey team will tour Australia for a five-match series, from May 18-27, 2023 at the MATE Stadium in Adelaide.
India will play Australia in the first three games of the series, followed by two matches against Australia A.
India will play its opening match of the tour on May 18 before playing back-to-back games on May 20 and 21. The visitors will then compete against Australia A on the May 25 and 27. The Australian women’s hockey team is currently ranked third in the world, while the Indian team is ranked eighth.
The tour will serve as a warm-up event for the Hangzhou Asian Games, which will take place from September 23 to October 8 this year.
Talking about the same, Janneke Schopman, the Indian women’s team head coach, said, “Playing Australia in Australia will help us assess where we are compared to the top of women’s hockey. More importantly, the series will be crucial for our preparations for the Asian Games in China as it will give us ideal exposure while helping us reckon the areas where we need to make improvements and changes. So, it’s a very important tour for us strategically.”
India will travel to Australia with a lot of confidence, having won the FIH Women’s Nations Cup in December 2022 by defeating host Spain in the final.
Furthermore, in January 2023, India toured South Africa, where they took on the hosts in four matches and registered comprehensive 5-1, 7-0, and 4-0 victories in the opening three games, while the fourth game ended in a 2-2 draw. However, during the same tour, the Indian side suffered a 1-3 loss at the hands of the Netherlands in their last three games.
In addition, the Indian women’s hockey team was defeated three-time Olympic gold medallists Australia 1-0 in the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. It was a historic victory for India.
India also fought hard against Australia in the Commonwealth Games 2022 semifinal match in Birmingham, tying the score at 1-1 at the end of regulation time. However, Australia won the penalty shoot-out 3-0 to make it to the final.
Currently, the players are gearing up for the Australia tour in the ongoing senior women’s national coaching camp at SAI, Bengaluru.
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