Bengaluru, Jan 8: Ahead of the Women’s Asia Cup, India women’s hockey team chief coach Janneke Schopman on Saturday said qualifying for the World Cup will be their key objective.
The 2022 Women’s Hockey Asia Cup to be held from January 21 -28 in Muscat, Oman. The winner of the tournament will directly qualify for the World Cup which will take place in Netherlands and Spain.
“Our first key objective will be to qualify for the World Cup. That is most important because that is where the best teams in the world come together to compete. I am also very keen to see the level where we are at the moment and whether we can execute the style of play that I envision for the team.”
“Currently we are working on defining our style of play as the Indian Women’s Team. A lot of movement on and off the ball and people joining in attack as we want to play fast and attacking hockey, said Schopman
“We want to make use of our skills and speed to good effect. At the same time, we want to be a sturdy defensive unit and take pride in competing in our 1v1 duels.”
“I am happy with what I am seeing because the better we defend in training, the more necessary it becomes to attack better, and that really accelerates the progress of the team,” she added.
“I am not looking to measure my team against our opponents in the competition, but instead against my own expectations of how I want my team to play. I am eager to see how the team will perform in Oman as it will be really challenging, she said.
India will begin its campaign at the Asia cup on January 21 against Malaysia.
