Indian women's hockey team's preparations in full swing for FIH Junior World Cup 2023
Oct 30, 2023
New Delhi [India], October 30 : With just a month to go for the eagerly-anticipated FIH Hockey Women's Junior World Cup 2023, preparations are up and running for the Indian Junior Women's Hockey Team as they aim to lift the prestigious trophy.
The FIH Hockey Women's Junior World Cup 2023 will be held in Santiago, Chile, from November 29 to December 10, 2023. A total of 16 teams will be taking part in the FIH Hockey Women's Junior World Cup 2023.
India are placed in Pool C along with Germany, Belgium and Canada. The Netherlands, South Africa, Australia and hosts Chile are in Pool A, while Argentina, Korea, Spain and Zimbabwe are placed in Pool B and Pool D comprises England, the United States, New Zealand and Japan. The Indian Junior Women's Hockey Team will open their campaign against Canada on November 29. They will face Germany on November 30 and will lock horns against Belgium on December 2.
The Indian Junior Women's Hockey Team qualified for the FIH Hockey Women's Junior World Cup 2023 after their unbeaten streak in six matches at the Women's Junior Asia Cup 2023, which was held in Kakamigahara, Japan, in June 2023. The Indian Junior Women's Hockey Team emerged Champions as they defeated South Korea 2-1 in a thrilling Final. Annu and Neelam scored the goals for India and Park Seo-yeon scored for South Korea. This was the first time the Indian Junior Women's Hockey Team won the Women's Junior Asia Cup.
Speaking about the atmosphere in the team, among the players and how they are preparing in the lead-up to the FIH Hockey Women's Junior World Cup 2023, Indian Junior Women's Hockey Team coach Tushar Khandker, said, "All of the players in the team have been doing intense training sessions. We are working on areas of improvement ahead of the FIH Hockey Women's Junior World Cup 2023 as the World Cup is just a month away now. We don't want to leave any room for error and make mistakes which can cost us dearly. Winning the Women's Junior Asia Cup 2023 has definitely boosted the morale of the players and the spirit is high among the players. Everyone in the squad has worked hard to get to this stage and we will look to implement our strategies successfully in every game that we play."
