The Indian Women’s Hockey team are all set to feature in the Women’s Nations Cup in Spain and head coach Janneke Schoipman highlights how acclimatization to the cold weather will be very important for the Indian players to do well. It is true that Indian players are not accustomed to playing in these conditions and hence it will be an added test for the Indian eves as they aim to win the Nations Cup.
India are clubbed in Pool B alongside Canada, Japan and South Africa as the tournament will start on December 11. Pool A includes Ireland, Italy, Korea and hosts Spain.
The hockey calendar has changed and now the Nations Cup will be a very important tournament for the teams. With the relegation and promotion system introduced the Nations Cup will be acting as a bridge between the teams and playing in the FIH Hockey Pro League for the upcoming season. The team that will win the Nations Cup will be featuring in the FIH Hockey Pro League 2023-24 season directly.
The Indian eves have come to Spain a couple of weeks ago but they have disappointed with their performances in the practice matches against the host nation. The Indian Women’s team lost the first match by a slender 1-0 before they bettered themselves by earning a 1-1 draw. But then again they lost the third practice match 3-1.
Janneke Schopman highlights how the cold weather will be a major problem for the Indian girls as they are not used to these circumstances. So it will be crucial for the Indian eves to get used to the climate in Spain and only after that can they hope for a promising result.
“It’s cold here but training has been going well, we have been able to build on our training during the national camp in SAI, Bangalore. The practice matches were very beneficial, it showed us exactly where we need to put some extra focus on come the tournament. Overall, all games were competitive and pretty even based,” said Schopman.
India will play another practice game against Ireland as they look to make the final few touches to their overall game before they feature in the campaign opening fixture against Canada. “We will use this week to take the lesson from the Spain game and focus on these areas in training. We play Ireland on Thursday as well and we expect it to be a good game,” Schopman shared.
After finishing third in their maiden FIH Hockey Pro League, the Indian team are fighting to win the Nations Cup and get back to the pro League once again. Schopman shared how the players know what they have at stake and how getting back to the Pro League will only help in their preparation for the Asian Games and also the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.
