India has been placed along side World No. 2 and host England in a tricky Pool B of FIH women’s hockey World Cup, to be held in London next year. Besides England, the other nations in India’s pool are world no. 7 USA and Ireland.
According to the schedule of the 16-nation tournament issued by the International Hockey Federation on Sunday, World No. 10 and Asia Cup champion India will open its campaign against England on the first day of the event on July 21.
After England, the Indians will next play Ireland on July 26 followed by their last pool encounter against USA on July 29 at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
“We look forward to the challenge in Pool B. England and USA are ranked above us but the Indian women’s team is on the rise with confidence-boosting performances in the past few months. Every match at the World Cup is important and each match needs to be played like a final,” chief coach of the Indian women’s team Harendra Singh said.
“It will be crucial for us to have a good outing in the Commonwealth Games next year so we carry forward a winning momentum into the World Cup. We have set our sights on Mission 2018 and all our training will be focused on peaking at the prestigious tournament,” he added.
India’s schedule: July 21, 2008 (v. England), July 26 (v Ireland), July 29 (v USA).
The groupings: Pool A: The Netherlands, China, Korea and Italy. Pool B: Argentina, Germany, Spain and South Africa. Pool C: India, England, USA and Ireland. Pool D: Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Belgium .
