‘Unity among the youngsters and seniors is our biggest strength’ – Indian Women’s Hockey team captain Savita Punia on World Cup preparation

The Indian Women’s hockey team is all set to prepare for the FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup in the Netherlands and Spain which is scheduled to begin in a month’s time on 1st July, 2022. The anticipation is very high among the Indian Eves as they want to prove a point in the global stage. The Indian Women’s hockey are placed in Pool B of the competition along with England, China and New Zealand.

Ahead of the World Cup, the players are currently in a camp at the SAI Centre in Bengaluru. The Indian women’s hockey team will face teams like Belgium, Argentina and the United States before they take on the big challenge at the world stage.

Savita Punia, who will captain the Indian team, feels that there is  great sense of unity among the players and that is the real strength of this team going into the World Cup. Punia feels that the upcoming matches in the FIH Hockey Pro League will act as a great platform for assessment ahead of the big challenge. “The camp is buzzing with excitement and positive energy. The players are training together and there is a real sense of unity among the younger set of players and the senior ones. Everyone is looking forward to the upcoming away matches of the FIH Pro League Games in Belgium and The Netherlands as they will really help the team in growing further as a unit,” Savita Punia stated regarding the preparation of her teammates for the World Cup.

The Indian Women’s hockey team came close to winning the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics where they defeated Australia for the first time in their history. So the steps taken by the Indian Eves have been massive in the last couple of years and Punia also highlights the development and growth of the players. She feels the performance in their FIH Hockey Pro League will give them confidence in the upcoming competition.

“Our team has made remarkable improvement over the past few months and we are training really hard to continue on the same trajectory. We are gaining confidence each day and will hope to give our best performance at the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup 2022,” Savita Punia added.

It will be interesting to see how the Indian Eves fare ahead of the FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup. teh FIH Hockey Pro League will surely be a platform where the players will be able to assess their level against the top teams. With only a month left for the big event its now or never for Savita Punia’s girls.