Bengaluru: The Indian junior men’s and women’s hockey teams on Monday departed for their European tour. They will be flying to Germany for the 4-Nation Hockey Tournament in Dusseldorf.
The Indian teams will be seen in action against England, Spain, and hosts Germany.
The tournament will be part of the preparations for the upcoming FIH Men’s Junior World Cup 2023, scheduled to be played in Malaysia from December 5 to 16 and the Women’s FIH Hockey Junior World Cup, slated to be played in Santiago, Chile, from November 29 to December 10.
In the absence of Uttam Singh, who is unable to travel due to an injury he sustained during the training camp, Vishnukant Singh will captain the junior men’s side while Sourabh Anand Kushwaha has been named as Uttam’s replacement in the squad, with Boby Singh Dhami remaining as vice-captain.
Meanwhile, the junior women will be captained by Preeti and Rutuja Dadaso Pisal will be her deputy.
The junior men’s team will be in action from August 18 to 22 while the junior women will be in action from August 19 to 23.
Speaking ahead of the team’s departure, junior men’s captain Vishnukant said: “We are really looking forward to this tour. Playing against quality sides in the lead-up to the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup will give us a good learning experience.
“Having worked on our strengths and weaknesses over the past few months, we will aim to give our best in the tournament. Coming on the back of winning the Men’s Junior Asia Cup 2023, it will give us the confidence to play top European teams,” he said.
Meanwhile, junior women’s skipper Preeti said: “We have been doing intense training sessions. The preparations have been really good, and our previous performances will be a massive confidence booster for the players. We have FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup 2023 coming in December, so it will be a good time for us to implement and execute the strategies that we have been working on.”
Schedule of the Indian junior men’s team:
Aug 18, India Vs Spain
Aug 19, India vs Germany
Aug 21, India vs England
Schedule of the Indian junior women’s team:
Aug 19, India Vs Germany
Aug 20, India vs England
Aug 22, India vs Spain
(IANS)
