Bengaluru, 01 April 2019: The Indian Women’s Hockey Team led by ace goalkeeper Savita left for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Sunday night from the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru.
The 18-member Indian Team will play five-match Series against the Malaysian National team starting 4 April 2019. The eight-day tour, Savita believes will help the team in their preparations for the FIH Series Final in June. “Earlier this year we played in Spain where we did well against the hosts and Ireland. We will carry the same confidence into Malaysia and look to improve on key areas which we felt needed to be worked on after analysing our performance in Spain. Whatever we are doing now is all part of the preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Qualifying event later this year and we are looking to improve as a team as well as our individual performance,” explained Savita.
Going into the tour with some key players missing due to injuries such as experienced striker Rani, midfielder Namita Toppo and dragflicker Gurjit Kaur, Savita said the tour will be a good platform for the youngsters to step up and make use of the opportunity. “I think we have good depth in the team now with quite a few talented youngsters who have had good International exposure. They know what is required at this level and are aware of their individual responsibilities. This will be a good tour for them to show their capabilities so that they will stand a chance to make the team for the all important 2020 Tokyo Olympics Qualifying event this year,” she said.
The Indian team will play their first match on 4 April 2019 at 16.30 hours.
For Schedule of the tour, click here.