Indian women hockey is at its best. The Indian team has set another example by reaching the semi-final of an Olympics for the very first time at Tokyo 2020. And they missed the podium. The spotlight will now be trained on the Under-21 team. And they gear up for the FIH Hockey Junior World Cup in South Africa, which will begin on December 5.
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And India captain Lalremsiami, who was part of the Tokyo 2020 team, is confident enough to fulfil everyone's expectations. As an Indian women's hockey team takes the field for the first time since the Olympics.
"We played very well at the Olympics, created history," Lalremsiami said during a media interaction arranged by Hockey India.
"The junior team is also very good, very skilful. We have played with the seniors and learnt a lot from them. We are confident of winning a medal at the Junior World Cup."
India's best performance at the tournament, so far, has been the bronze medal they won in 2013. That team included the likes of Rani Rampal, Deep Grace Ekka and Vandana Katariya, who were all a crucial part of the team that did well at Tokyo 2020. With the senior and the U-21 teams training together at the Sports Authority of India campus in Bengaluru, the juniors have been able to see up and close the discipline, dedication and attitude it takes to come good at the highest level.
Lalremsiami's statement-Hockey Junior World Cup
"The seniors have helped us during training as well. They believe in us as well," added Lalremsiami.
Janneke Schopman, however took over as the head coach of the Indian women's hockey team from Sjeord Marijne. The Olympics has been looking after both the teams. According to the Schopman, was part of Netherlands' gold-winning team at Beijing 2008. India's physical fitness and speed may set them apart at the Junior World Cup.
"What I'm very excited about with the team we are bringing, is we have a lot of speed," said Schopman.
"That's not something junior teams see very often. And also because playing the senior team, we are doing very good job in transition -- from defence to attack and attack to defence. The girls are now used to playing pretty quick.
"More than anything it will be a mind game, where we have to push ourselves every second of every game to make sure that we are making the most of it. The physical fitness is where it needs to be. We have incredible speed in our team. We should use it to chase these other teams and make them so tired that they start making mistakes."
"For the juniors, it is a great opportunity to show me, more importantly show each other, what they can do at this high level," said the Dutchwoman.
"Watching them play against teams like Argentina, Japan and Russia will give me an idea of where they are in their development and how quickly they can join the senior team. There is a lot of potential in that group."