The Indian women’s team will take on South Africa in its first pool B match of the Women’s Hockey World League Semifinal here on Saturday.
The team, led by Rani, arrived here a week prior to the tournament, which has helped in its preparation.
Getting acclimatised to the conditions in the host city which is at an altitude of 1,753 metres was easier, thanks to the high-altitude training held at SAI Centre Shillaroo before arriving for the event, which is also a World Cup Qualifier.
“We had some good short training sessions here over the past week and the girls did well. They did not tire easily, which was one of the main reasons to have the high-altitude camp. We have one session planned today (Friday) on the game pitch which will count as our final preparation before the start of the tournament,” said chief coach Sjoerd Marijne on the eve of the match.
The women’s team also played two practice matches against England and Ireland.
India has Chile, USA, Argentina apart from South Africa in its pool.
