 "FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers: India women in Ranchi with Paris on their mind")
With the Paris Olympics getting ever so close, the focus for athletes is qualifying for the Summer Games, bagging quotas and rising up in the rankings. One such group is the Indian women’s hockey team which will look to book a spot in the French capital for the extravaganza from 26 July to 11 August. One of the two women’s hockey qualification tournaments will be held in Ranchi at the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Stadium from 13-19 January. The other tournament will take place in Valencia, Spain. The tournament in Ranchi will see Chile, Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, India, Italy, New Zealand and USA gun for a spot. India have been placed in Pool B alongside Italy, New Zealand and USA. Captained by goalkeeper Savita, India begin their campaign on 13 January against USA. It will be followed by contests against New Zealand (14 January) and Italy (16 January).
The teams are up and ready as we begin with the first round of practice games at the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Astro Turf Hockey Stadium, Ranchi ahead of the FIH Olympic Qualifiers.
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) January 8, 2024
In action are team USA 🇺🇲 and team Czech Republic 🇨🇿
Stay tuned for more updates.#HockeyIndia… pic.twitter.com/bbJHokhUfk
“We are excited to be back in Ranchi for the all-important FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers 2024. Last time we were here for the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy, the home crowd supported us a lot and we thoroughly enjoyed playing here. We are looking forward to starting our campaign and interestingly our first match is against the USA with whom we played the previous Olympic Qualifiers. I am sure it will be an exciting opening match and we look forward to a good start to our campaign.” The top two teams from both groups will progress to the semi-finals. The finalists will automatically qualify for the Paris Olympics while the semi-finalists will contest for the remaining spot. As a result, the top three teams from the tournament will qualify for the Summer Olympics. France, Australia, Netherlands, China, Argentina and South Africa have already qualified for the Olympics. China were initially supposed to host the tournament now allotted to Ranchi but reached an agreement when they qualified at the Asian Games. China had beaten India 4-0 in the semi-finals in Hangzhou last year. India’s form
Training Underway ⚠️
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) January 8, 2024
Join the action from January 13th to 19th, live on Jio Cinema, Sports 18 3, and Sports 18 HD1. 📺#HockeyIndia #IndiaKaGame #EnRouteToParis pic.twitter.com/vY4FyfIgJ7
After securing bronze medal at the Asian Games, India women’s hockey team dominated in the Asian Champions Trophy. Also held in Ranchi, India beat Thailand (7-1), Malaysia (5-0), China (2-1), Japan (2-1) and South Korea (5-0) in the group stage. They then beat South Korea (2-0) in the semi-finals followed by a win over Japan (4-0) in the title clash. Individually, Sangita Kumari scored six goals, Salima Tete bagged five goals with four goals for Vandana Katariya (who is injured and will miss the qualifiers). At the five-nations tournament in Valencia in December, India could muster just one win - 2-1 against Ireland. They went down to Spain (2-3), Belgium (1-2) and Germany (1-3). [caption id=“attachment_13593182” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Savita will spearhead India’s campaign in the FIH Olympic Qualifiers in Ranchi. Image: X/Hockey India[/caption] Chief coach Janneke Schopman preferred to look at the positives emerging out of competitive matches against higher-ranked Belgium and Germany. “In the Asian Games, we actually didn’t perform the way we could, especially in the semifinal. That was disappointing for the girls, for me, and for our staff, because we know we can be better. The main focus from that moment has been on how we can play to our strengths and potential and, basically, show up on the field with what we are able to bring. The Asian Champions Trophy showed that in a lot of ways,” Schopman said. “Unfortunately, we had some injuries in Spain. So, we had to improvise in terms of our lineups, which was a good thing, as we’ve seen some great developments in terms of people being able to play in different positions. We also got closer to the better teams in the world,” the Dutchwoman added. Team news
Where opponents' dreams hit a 'Not today' wall!#HockeyIndia #IndiaKaGame #EnRouteToParis pic.twitter.com/cAelrR0nLB
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) January 8, 2024
India have an upbeat mood inside the camp despite a minor setback with experienced forward Vandana Katariya being ruled out with an injury. Youngster Baljeet Kaur will replace her. Jharkhand’s Nikki Pradhan, the first female hockey player from the state to represent India at the Olympics in 2016, takes over the vice-captaincy duties. “It’s unfortunate that Vandana won’t be playing. She sustained a cheekbone fracture during training and needs rest. While we’ll miss her experience, Baljeet has earned her chance to step up, and Nikki will provide crucial leadership as Vice Captain,” said Schopman. Without Rani Rampal and Gurjit Kaur, plenty of leadership responsibilities will come down to Savita as she stewards youngsters like Sangita and Tete. Playing in front of home crowd brings with it a much-needed boost but it also invites added pressure. “We are working on certain aspects, but of course, there will be pressure. How we can manage that pressure is something we have been working on because it is an event of huge significance,” said Savita. Peter Harberl, who was appointed as the mental conditioning coach, will have a big role to play. India women at Olympics
Brace yourselves for a thrilling kickoff to the year as the Indian Women's Team takes on top contenders at the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers Ranchi 2024! 🏑🔥
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) January 7, 2024
Join the action from January 13th to 19th, live on Jio Cinema, Sports 18 3, and Sports 18 HD1 📺
Let the hockey fever… pic.twitter.com/0oejeOvoXj
India women’s hockey team made their Olympics debut in 1980. They then had to wait until 2016 for their next appearance in Rio de Janeiro. However, that campaign ended without a win as India finished bottom of the standings. Schopman came in as India’s analytical coach in January 2020 and watched the team clinch a historic fourth-place at the rescheduled 2021 Tokyo Olympics under Sjoerd Marijne. After Marijne’s departure, Dutchwoman Schopman stepped in and led India to a first medal at the Commonwealth Games in 16 years. India also finished third in the 2021–22 Pro League and won the inaugural FIH Nations Cup. Four years ago, India needed to beat Schopman’s USA 6-5 in a thriller to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. As luck would have it, the Dutchwoman would have to thwart former employers to take India to Paris.
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