Indian women’s hockey team to resume international competition

Indian hockey will hit the restart button and begin the Olympic preparations when the women’s team travels to Argentina next week for its first tour in nearly a year after the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly halted all competitions around the world.A core group of 25 players and seven support staff will leave from New Delhi on January 3. The Indian women’s team will compete in eight matches against hosts Argentina, starting from January 17.“We have a little over 200 days before we arrive in Tokyo for the Olympic Games in July 2021 and it was very important to play matches against a strong team like Argentina,” Indian women’s hockey team captain Rani said in a release issued by Hockey India.

“This tour has been planned very carefully keeping in mind the safety of players and we are truly grateful to Hockey India and SAI for ensuring we resume competition despite the ongoing pandemic,” Rani said. “I am happy that after one year we are able to play international matches. This tour will give us information for the next step to be made in our preparations for the Tokyo Olympic Games,” said chief coach Sjoerd Marijne. The entire Indian contingent will undergo COVID-19 RT-PCR Test 72 hours prior to their departure from New Delhi.There is no requirement of quarantine upon arrival in Argentina but the team will still be following all safety and health measures as advised by the respective Governments of India & Argentina. The Indian women’s team last participated in an international tour in January this year when it travelled to New Zealand for a five-match series. It played both New Zealand and Great Britain in the five-match series and were victorious in three of them.