Striker Rani Rampal is back in the Indian women’s hockey team after a break. The rejuvenated Rampal and the team are geared up for the tour of Spain, starting June 12. As the five-match series against the Spanish team involves a lot of hard work. Performing well in the tournament will be a morale booster as the World Cup will be held in July in London.
The tour will be a good platform for youngsters to make the cut for the Hockey Women's World Cup squad.
The Indian team kickstarted their campaign and left for Spain tour on June 9. Rampal is leading the team to the international platform and will play off in Madrid as part of their preparations for the World Cup in London next month.
"The youngsters did really well in the Asian Champions Trophy and in Spain matches if they can have a consistent performance then they stand a good chance to draw the national selectors attention ahead of the much-important Women's World Cup London 2018 next month," said Rampal, DNA reported.
The team has a good mix of young and experienced players. Indian women need to strike hard from the beginning as two major tournaments, including the World Cup in July and the Asian Games in August, are round the corner.
Rani said, "We will be playing the World Cup after a gap of eight years. It will be a big stage for everyone in the team and it will be a first-time experience for many."
"We obviously won't be going there as the underdog team, especially after a good show in the CWG. But the way we play in London will certainly have an impact on our performance at the Asian Games. Good wins with an improved goal scoring rate in London will provide the right build up for the Asian Games and the Spain Tour will be our last best chance to experiment too," she added.
Goalkeeper Savita is the team's vice-captain. Youngster Swati has been called as the backup goalkeeper for the tournament.
Rampal had been rested since the Asian Champions Trophy where India won a silver medal
"It is very important to stay fresh ahead of the Vitality Hockey Women's World Cup London 2018. With a 20-member squad, Chief Coach will have the option of rotating the players often," Rampal said.
"This tour in Spain will help us work on the areas that we lacked during the Asian Champions Trophy. I personally felt that we played an attacking game, and kept the momentum up throughout the event but in the final we missed a lot of scoring opportunities and could not defend well enough against Korea's high ball/ scoops," she added.
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The team will be focusing on playing better to put behind the memories of the Hockey World League, Johannesburg. The team, led by Rampal, finished eighth and missed an automatic berth in the 2018 World Cup. The Asia Cup win paved the way for the team's participation in the World Cup.
All the best, girls!
Also Read: Why India Doesn’t Deserve Rani Rampal
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