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Tokyo Olympics Qualifiers: India men to play Russia, women draw tricky USA in final round of hockey Olympic qualifier

In a favourable draw, the Indian men's hockey team was on Monday pitted against lower-ranked Russia while the women's team drew a tricky USA in the final round of the Tokyo Olympics qualifiers.

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Tokyo Olympic Qualifiers: India men to play Russia, women draw tricky USA in final round of hockey Olympic qualifier


Lausanne (Switzerland), Sept. 9: In a favourable draw, the Indian men's hockey team was on Monday pitted against lower-ranked Russia while the women's team drew a tricky USA in the final round of the Tokyo Olympics qualifiers. The draw which involved 14 teams was held at the headquarters of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) in Lausanne, Switzerland on Monday.

The teams will compete in two back-to-back matches to make it to the Tokyo Games. The men's team will compete on November 1-2 while the women's team will take on the American side on November 2-3 in Bhubaneswar.

Eight-time Olympic champions India are ranked five in the world while the Russians are placed 22 in the FIH world rankings. India had mauled Russia 10-0 during the FIH Series Final in Bhubaneswar earlier this year.

Considering they are a team who can be good in defence, Indian Team Skipper Manpreet Singh said they can't take the Russian squad lightly. He said, "As our Chief Coach Graham Reid says, we cannot take any team lightly and we need to respect every opponent. There is no room for complacency especially because we have seen what Russia is capable of. The weather conditions back in June was challenging for them but it may not be the same case this time.

"I am sure they will come well prepared as it's the Olympic Qualifiers and they are capable of surprising any team hence it is important we remain focused on our own performance and play our best hockey."

The Indian men's hockey 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," Reid said.

Though the women American team is placed four places below India (ranked 9) it won't be a cake walk for the Rani Rampal-led side when they take the field for the FIH Olympic qualifiers. The Indian 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.

The Indian women's hockey team's chief coach Sjoerd Marijne too sounded optimistic about their chances. "The team has 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," said Marijne.

As part of preparation for the Qualifiers, the Indian women's team will play a five-match series against England this month. "I've always believed that the opponent we play does not matter as long as we are better prepared and that's been our focus," said Rani Rampal.

"We knew the areas we had to work on to be in the best form to play two back-to-back matches and we are working towards winning them."

Among other FIH Olympic matches in the men's section, 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.

In the women's section, Australia will play Russia, Germany will lock horns with Italy, Great Britain are up against Chile, Spain have drawn Korea, Ireland will face Canada and China are slated to meet Belgium.

Source: Hockey India & PTI

Story first published: Monday, September 9, 2019, 19:50 [IST]
Other articles published on Sep 9, 2019
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