Our aim is to finish in top spot, says Rani

After gaining confidence from a scintillating 5-0 whitewash in the series against Belarus earlier this month, the Indian senior women’s team led by striker Rani and vice-captain Deep Grace Ekka will vie for top honours against Belarus, Canada, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Chile and Uruguay in the World League. The Indians have been top-seeded in the tournament. 

“We go in as the top ranked team and we are confident we will finish in the top spot. We are going there 10 days before the start of the tournament, so we will have enough time to get used to the turf and climate. We also play two practice matches which will help us fine-tune further,” stated a confident Rani. 

Rani added the team has been working extremely hard in the national camp at Bhopal under the watchful eyes of chief coach Sjoerd Marijne and analytical coach Eric Wonink, both Dutchmen. The training was also overseen by the high-performance director David John. “We were put through a rigorous training camp which began in the second week of January. We have worked a lot on our individual skill, brought in a few variations in our techniques to increase speed of play. The team has thoroughly enjoyed working under the new coaches who are very specific in their approach and ensure every girl in the team knows her responsibilities and what is expected of her. Apart from emphasis on fitness, there were also special sessions for mental training and it has helped the team a lot,” explained Rani. 

The series win against Belarus was a big confidence booster ahead of the World League, feels Deep Grace Ekka. “This group has been together for a while now and we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. I feel the series win against Belarus was a big motivator. 

There were minor mistakes that we committed against Belarus and we worked on correcting those mistakes these past few weeks. Our primary goal is to qualify for the World League semi-final and to do that our focus will not just be on attack and speed of play but also a lot of emphasis will be on our defensive structure,” Ekka added. 

The Women’s World League semi-final will be held in June and July with Johannesburg and Brussels set to be the two venues. 

Speaking about the team’s progress over the past few weeks, the head coach, Marijne said, “The team possesses great skill to play fast but we have also emphasised a lot on defence because a good defence structure is what wins us championships. We have worked on our own small targets and I am hopeful they will fetch us good results.”