New Delhi, 16 May (H.S.):

Indian women’s hockey team captain Salima Tete said the team is working hard at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in Bengaluru ahead of its Australia tour and is fully prepared to face any kind of pressure. She said the team has been further strengthening its preparations after the Argentina tour.

Speaking at a press conference organised by the Sports Authority of India, Salima Tete said the Australia tour would prove highly important in preparing for major events such as the upcoming World Cup and the Asian Games.

Salima said, “The Australian team is very strong, so the matches will be at a high level. We are extremely excited to play against Australia and will try to play our best hockey. The coaching staff is continuously working with us, and we are all grateful for their efforts.”

She said the team is improving continuously and young players are also being given opportunities. She added, “The new players are performing well, and we must continue to support them so that they can keep improving.”

Speaking about the intense fitness training being carried out in the national camp, Salima said fitness is the most important part of the team’s preparation.

She said, “Every player is working very hard on fitness. Fitness is extremely important to beat any team. The junior team is also fully focused on maintaining its fitness. Our fitness will help us ensure better performances. We showed good form in the World Cup qualifiers, but there is still room for improvement. Looking at the team’s comeback, fitness becomes even more important for us.”

Salima described the Argentina tour as a very useful experience for the team. She said that playing against top-level sides there helped the team understand combinations better and also helped young players adjust to the senior setup.

She said, “The whole team performed well in Argentina. Playing against such strong teams was a major achievement for us. It has helped a lot in preparing for the Australia tour, the Nations Cup, the World Cup and the Asian Games. Right now, our full focus is on the Australia tour, and we want to perform our best there so that our confidence grows for the next tournaments.”

The captain added, “We want to carry the momentum from the Argentina tour into Australia as well. We must remain disciplined, stay focused on our strategy and follow the coach’s instructions. Every player will have to work on her strengths and weaknesses so that the team can perform better. There will definitely be pressure, but we are fully ready to deal with it.”

The Indian women’s hockey team will be on tour in Australia from May 21 to June 3. The tour is an important part of preparations for the FIH Women’s Nations Cup to be held in Auckland, New Zealand. The Indian team will play four matches against Australia at the Perth Hockey Stadium between May 26 and May 30.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar