India women's hockey team eyes strong outing in European leg of Pro League

London, Jun 13 (PTI) Having worked extensively to iron out the chinks in their armour, India will aim for a strong showing in the European leg of the Women's Hockey Pro League, beginning with their clash against Australia here on Saturday.

Currently ranked sixth with nine points, India will face Australia on June 14 and 15, followed by back-to-back matches against Argentina on June 17 and 18.

The team will then travel to Antwerp on June 19 for two games against Belgium, scheduled for June 21 and 22, before concluding the European leg with matches against China on June 28 and 29 in Berlin.

"We have worked in every department. But the two departments I am focussing on because it is result oriented are -- goalkeeping and drag flicking," chief coach Harendra Singh told reporters on the eve of the match.

Singh also revealed that drag flickers Deepika and Manisha underwent a 10-day specialised camp with renowned Dutch drag-flick expert Toon Siepman ahead of the tour.

"For drag flicking, Deepika and Manisha trained under Toon Siepman, who has years of experience coaching some of the world's top players," Singh said.

"We also worked on improving our injectors and stoppers. Earlier, five girls were rotating in those roles, but now we've narrowed it down to three." India will look to build on the momentum gained during the India leg of the Pro League in February, where they held world No. 1 Netherlands to a 2-2 draw in Bhubaneswar and earned a bonus point via shootout.

The team experimented with new combinations during a five-match friendly tour in Perth against Australia A and the Hockeyroos last month. While results were mixed, Singh said the tour provided valuable learning for Salima Tete's side.

"Australia played full press and we learnt how to stretch them with counter-control. We also learnt that we should play stick-to-stick hockey.

"Second learning was to be more resilient on the pitch specially 1v1. I took a squad of 24 to give more players experience but this Pro League we need to be more alert, scan with peripheral vision, play fast hockey.

"I'm confident that the team will get a good result in the four (Pro League) matches." The coach has opted for a balanced squad that blends experience with young talent.

Singh wants the team to peak during September's Asia Championship as winning the continental championship would mean automatic qualification for next year's World Cup.

"I would say the team is 70 percent fit because we want to peak at the right time which is during the Asian Championship later this year." With Belgium and Netherlands already qualifying as co-hosts of the World Cup and Germany by virtue of winning the Pro League last year, a good showing in the Pro League could also potentially secure a World Cup berth for India.

"Two teams have automatically qualified as hosts. Germany won the last Pro League and has also qualified. So we have to manage to finish above England and Spain.

"So if we finish fifth, and presuming, for example, Australia qualifies from Oceania, Argentina qualifies (from South America), and one of us or China qualifies from the Asia Cup then there is an opportunity for us to qualify in this Pro League itself," Singh said.

England are languishing at the bottom of the points table with five points while Spain is fifth with 14 points from 12 outings. PTI APA AM APA AM AM