New Delhi: She captained India
to a Bronze medal finish in the 2013 Women's Junior Hockey World Cup and
veteran Sushila Chanu feels the Salima Tete-led side has the potential to go
two steps further and claim a maiden Gold in the edition that begins on Friday.
The Indian team will begin its
campaign in Pool D against Wales on Saturday in
Potchefstroom, South Africa before taking on formidable Germany on
Sunday.
The Indians will then take on
Malaysia in their final pool match before the quarterfinal round which starts
on April 8.
"This is a really
tight-knit group with excellent understanding between each other on the field,
and off field as well. They have trained together as a group for a long time,
and even played practice matches against the senior women's team in the
national camp at SAI Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar in which they have contested
well," Sushila said.
"The group also consists
of players who have represented the senior team on the big stage like the
Olympics. These reasons lead me to believe that the Indian junior team is a
strong contender for the Gold medal."
Sushila was referring to the trio of skipper Tete, midfielder Sharmila Devi and striker Lalremsiami, who were part of the senior team that finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics. (PTI)
No comments:
Post a Comment