Muscat: The Indian women’s hockey team will look to start their FIH Pro League campaign on a positive note and hope to build on their Asia Cup performance when they take on China in the first of two matches here on Monday.
After a commanding 2-0 win over China to finish third and claim bronze at the Asia Cup 2022, India have shifted their focus to the Pro League, with chief coach Janneke Schopman saying the team is “excited” to start their campaign against China.
“We are excited to start our Pro League campaign and look to build on our performance in the Asia Cup by hopefully creating and converting our opportunities as well as having a clinical defence,” said Schopman on the eve of the first match.
“China has shown to be a good team here in the Asia Cup. While they did not finish in the top three, their game stats show that they were even to all top-three teams,” she added.
Savita, who will continue to lead the team as captain in the Pro League matches against China, said that they would look to build upon their recent performances at the Asia Cup held at the same venue.
“We not only managed to qualify for the Hockey Women’s World Cup Spain/Netherlands 2022 but also earned a podium finish. We are happy with how the team is shaping up and are looking forward to building upon the same in the upcoming matches,” said Savita.
“It was a good tournament for us to not only get an understanding of our opponents, but also learn how the team reacts in certain situations on the field, and how we can replicate what we are learning in the training. We are eager to play in the FIH Hockey Pro League for the first time and continue to improve and gain confidence,” she added.
IANS