Chance conversion and good start will be crucial for India's success, feels attacking midfielder Navneet Kaur

Navneet Kaur also spoke about the confidence of the team.

Having spent nearly a week in Ranchi, training at the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh AstroTurf, the Indian women’s hockey team is ready for the challenge at the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers 2024 where they will begin their campaign against United States on 13th January.

Speaking about their all-important outing on home turf, experienced attacking midfielder Navneet Kaur said, “Arriving in Ranchi early has helped us gain quite a few sessions on the main pitch and it has also helped us acclimatize to this weather.

“Since we have also played in this venue before, during the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy, we know the pitch well. We also went and trained in Kunti district which is home to some of our teammates and it was incredible to see the excitement on the children’s faces who had come to cheer us.” 

India are grouped in pool B along with New Zealand, Italy and United States. The top two teams from each Pool will qualify for the Semi-Finals and the teams that finish top 3 in the tournament will earn a ticket to Paris 2024. Speaking about their chances, Navneet said, “We are very optimistic. The teams we are grouped with are not new to us. We have played against them before.

“Converting the chances we create in the circle will be very crucial to our campaign and getting off to a good start in the tournament will give the team the right confidence.”

The Indian women’s hockey team will be vying for their third consecutive Olympic qualification. In the previous edition at the Tokyo Olympic Games, India came up with a historic performance finishing fourth.

“We are upbeat and eager to get on with our campaign. After our Tokyo Olympics performance, the expectations are high and we want to live up to the billing. We are well-prepared for the event and are confident of a good show,” Navneet signed off. 

The Indian Team will take on United States in their opening match on 13th January, followed by a match against New Zealand on 14th January. After a day’s rest, India will play Italy on 16th January while the Semi-Finals will be held on 18th and the Final on 19th January.

The other teams in the fray include World no.5 Germany, former Asian Games Champions Japan, Chile and Czech Republic grouped in pool A.  

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