She captained India to a bronze medal end within the 2013 Women’s Junior Hockey World Cup and veteran Sushila Chanu feels the Salima Tete-led aspect has the potential to go two steps additional and declare a maiden gold within the version that begins on Friday.
The Indian crew will start its marketing campaign in Pool D in opposition to Wales on Saturday in Potchefstroom, South Africa earlier than taking over formidable Germany on Sunday.
The Indians will then tackle Malaysia of their last pool match earlier than the quarterfinal spherical which begins 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 stated.
“The group additionally consists of gamers who’ve represented the senior crew on the large stage just like the Olympics. These causes lead me to consider that the Indian junior crew is a robust contender for the gold medal.” Sushila was referring to the trio of skipper Tete, midfielder Sharmila Devi and striker Lalremsiami, who had been a part of the senior crew that completed fourth on the Tokyo Olympics.
Halfback Sushila, one of many core group gamers within the Indian ladies’s crew, rose to prominence throughout the nationwide setup following the bronze medal end in 2013 in Monchengladbach, Germany.
“We had the time of our lives throughout that Junior World Cup marketing campaign. We had been so younger and carefree on the time, however every certainly one of us was fully focussed on utilizing that competitors as a platform to enhance on our expertise individually, and as a crew,” she recalled in Hockey India’s podcast ‘Hockey Te Charcha’.
“Our communication throughout the crew was so robust on the time. It was one of many key causes behind our success within the Junior World Cup.
“Winning that medal was the largest achievement of my life. I’ll always remember that recreation and that second once we secured victory.
The penalty shootouts had been occurring, and everybody within the crew was huddled collectively within the middle of the pitch and we had been all praying collectively. After successful the match that day, we had been all overjoyed. That marketing campaign was actually unforgettable.”
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
