Women’s Junior World Cup: 10 years after their only medal, India eye elusive title

Tribune News Service

Indervir Grewal

Chandigarh, March 31

The “long” wait for the junior women’s teams is “finally” over. Four months after it was postponed due to Covid-19, the FIH Women’s Junior World Cup begins in Potchefstroom, South Africa, tomorrow. Originally scheduled for December 5-16, the tournament was postponed due to the emergence of Omicron. The unwanted delay has led to an increased level of nervous excitement among the players. “The long wait finally ends for us. There is a lot of excitement among the players,” India captain Salima Tete said.

The postponement, though, has also benefitted many teams, including India. “We used the postponement to gain better exposure, improve as a team,” she added. “We are in good shape and confident of doing well. We even got a chance to play practice matches with the senior team,” she added.

The long wait finally ends for us. There is a lot of excitement among the players. We used the postponement to gain better exposure, improve as a team. We are in good shape and confident of doing well.

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As a captain, I will look to help my teammates at any point they need me to step in. —Salima Tete, India skipper

Not only did the juniors get to train with the senior team, five players — Akshata Dhekale, Deepika, Sangita Kumari, Bichu Devi and Ishika Chaudhary — also made their senior India debuts over the last few months. “Many of us in the team got an opportunity to play with the senior team. I feel this experience will definitely help us,” vice-captain Chaudhary said.

Seniors lead the way

Despite many players gaining top-level exposure in the FIH Pro League, the “onus” to lead the team to success will be on senior players Tete, Sharmila Devi and Lalremsiami. All three players were part of the senior team that finished fourth at last year’s Tokyo Olympics.

Tete said she was ready to step into the captain’s role. “As a captain, I will look to help my teammates at any point they need me to step in,” Tete said.

Lalremsiami, who was named the best international young female player in 2019, said she was aware of her “different” role. “The onus will be on me as my role is different here. It is about taking responsibilities and making crucial contributions,” Lalremsiami said.

Haryana’s Sharmila, who succeeded Lalremsiami in winning the best young female player award, said she would use her experience from the Tokyo Olympics. “Tokyo was a thrilling experience, and there was a lot to learn. I will be using that experience at the World Cup,” Sharmila said.

One game at a time

Despite being high on confidence, India’s road to their first title will not be easy. India are grouped in Pool D alongside former champions Germany, Malaysia and Wales. Barring an upset against minnows Malaysia and Wales, reaching the quarterfinals should be a cakewalk for India.

However, to reach the semifinals, for only their second time in the tournament’s history, India will need to play at their absolute best. In the quarterfinals, India will likely face either defending champions Argentina or South Korea — both two-time champions. However, Tete said: “Our aim will be to take it match by match, get off to a good start and play as per plan.”

Six from region

The 20-member squad consists of five players from Haryana — Preeti, Priyanka, Reet, Sharmila Devi and Deepika — and one player from Punjab — Baljeet Kaur.

India at Women’s Junior World Cup

India’s best performance came at the 2013 edition, when they won the bronze. Current senior India captain Rani Rampal was the star of the tournament, winning the best player award. Apart from that, India have struggled at the tournament — they finished ninth in 2001 and 2009, and 11th in 2005. They missed four editions, including in 2016, just three years after their medal high.

Dutch domination

Expectedly, Netherlands, who are a cut above the rest in senior women’s hockey, are the most dominant side in the Junior World Cup. They have won three gold, one silver and one bronze. In the tournament’s eight editions, they have failed to reach the last-four stage only once. Defending champions Argentina and South Korea have won two titles each, while Germany have won gold once.

Hot and humid

India captain Salima Tete said that reaching Potchefstroom almost a week ahead of their first match helped the side acclimatise. “Coming here early has helped us tremendously,” Tete said. “We have been able to get a good amount of training sessions here which has helped in acclimatising to the weather. It gets very warm and humid during the day. Our last camp in Bhubaneswar was also in quite hot conditions,” she added. Vice-captain Ishika Chaudhary said the team gained valuable experience from the two warm-up matches, which ended in draws. “We played warm-up matches, with four 10-minute quarters, against England and Netherlands. It gave us insights into the areas we needed to work on. We were creating many chances but didn’t convert enough,” Chaudhary said.

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