Lausanne (Switzerland): In a favourable draw which took place here Monday, the Indian men’s hockey team was pitted against lower-ranked Russia while the women’s team drew a tricky USA in the final round of the Tokyo Olympics qualifiers.
The teams will compete in two back-to-back matches to make it to the Tokyo Games. The men’s team will compete November 1-2 while the women’s team will take on the American side November 2-3. Both the women’s and men’s game will be played in Bhubaneswar.
Eight-time Olympic champions India are ranked No.5 in the world while the Russians are at No. 22. India had mauled Russia 10-0 during the FIH Series Finals in Bhubaneswar earlier this year.
The women American team is placed four places below India (ranked No. 9). Hence it won’t be a cakewalk for the Rani Rampal-led side. The women had played out a hard-fought 1-1 draw against USA in their last meeting at the Women’s World Cup in London last year.
Men’s team chief coach Graham Reid said they are confident of qualifying for the big-ticket event. “We are committed to achieving the Olympic qualification and in that pursuit we continue to emphasise on improving our defence. I believe training and playing against some of the best teams of the world will give us a good platform for the qualifiers,” Graham Reid said in a statement issued by Hockey India (HI).
Women’s hockey team’s chief coach Sjoerd Marijne too sounded optimistic about their chances. “The team have been performing well in the last few months. All the players are confident, very excited to take part in the FIH Olympic Qualifiers at home and they are charged up to achieve the team’s goal,” stated Sjoerd Marijne.
As part of preparation for the Qualifiers, the Indian women will play a five-match series against England later this month. “I’ve always believed that the opponents we play do not matter as long as we are better prepared and that’s been our focus,” Rani Rampal said.
Among other FIH Olympic matches in the men’s section, the Netherlands will host Pakistan, Germany will play Russia, Great Britain are up against Malaysia, Spain have drawn France, New Zealand will play Korea and Canada have been pitted against Ireland.
PTI