New Delhi, Aug 30 (Agency) The Indian women’s hockey team have had quite the year and more, starting from the momentous Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 up until Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games , and will now turn their focus to the all-important FIH Women’s Hockey Nations Cup, starting December 10 in Valencia, Spain. The Indian women have congregated after a short break at the Sports Authority of India’s campus in Bengaluru, as they look to build on the success of the bronze medal at the recently concluded Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. A week long tournament in Spain will see the winners get promoted to the FIH Hockey Pro League (Women’s).
India finished third in their debut campaign in the FIH Hockey Pro League 2021/22 season.Captained by Savita Punia currently, the Indian women are set for a longish camp before their next outing and the experienced defender expects to be put through the hard yards ahead of their next assignment. “We have to do well in Spain in the FIH Women’s Hockey Nations Cup, and for that the preparation begins from today. It won’t be easy but training hard and doing the right things repeatedly during our sessions is the only thing we can do,” Savita said, “Our aim in Spain will be to progress to the FIH Hockey Women’s Pro League and for that we have to win the Nations Cup. Our target is in front of us, now it’s up to us to make sure we build in the correct direction,” she said. One of the mainstays in the Indian defence, Deep Grace Ekka hopes the team can continue to build on the momentum going ahead.