Series win against Korea vital for India women's team in preparation for FIH Series Finals: Sjoerd Marijne

Indian women's hockey team coach Sjoerd Marijne said victory in the just-concluded series in South Korea is vital to its preparations for the forthcoming FIH Women's Series Finals. The tournament is scheduled to be held in Hiroshima, Japan from June 15. Against Korea, India won two back-to-back matches and lost the third match. "It was not exactly the way we wanted to finish the series but I think the experience was important at this juncture," Marijne said.

Reflecting on the tour, he said, "Two of the three matches we did very good and executed our plans well. While those two wins were confidence boosting, we must forget those victories and only think about the last match which did not go according to plan and focus on how we can improve ahead of the crucial Olympic Qualifying event."

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The core group will include 26 players for the upcoming national coaching vamp which commences on May 27 at Sports Authority of India, Bengaluru. "Important thing is to get good recovery now as this was a short and very high-intensity tour. During this National Camp we will focus on making the final steps towards achieving desirable results," Marijne stated.

For the Women's Series Finals, the Indian team will be grouped in Pool A where they will play against Uruguay, Poland and Fiji.  The other participating teams include Mexico, Japan, Russia and Chile grouped Pool B.

"When we meet on the first day of the National Camp, we will introspect on our last game against the Republic of Korea to find out what the real reason was to not play our A game. Only that will bring us forward and that's what we will do," asserted Marijne.

HIGHLIGHTS

• India is in Group A with Uruguay, Poland and Fiji.
• The other teams are Mexico, Japan, Russia and Chile in Group B.
• The FIH Women's Series Finals is scheduled to be held in Hiroshima, Japan from June 15.