The Indian women’s hockey team, captained by Salima Tete, has departed for Australia to play in a five-match friendly series that begins in Perth on April 26, In preparation for the FIH Pro League’s European leg in June.
India’s tour will begin with back-to-back matches against Australia A on April 26 and 27, followed by matches against the senior Australian women’s team on May 1, 3, and 4. These matches are sure to be fierce and hotly contested.
India, currently ranked ninth in the FIH World Rankings, will try to maintain their recent success and boost their preparations for the June start of the FIH Pro League 2024–25 European leg.
The Indian squad will try to build on its previous FIH Pro League campaign, in which it earned a shootout bonus point in Bhubaneswar and held world No. 1 Netherlands to a 2-2 tie.
Indian women’s team head coach Harendra Singh said, “This tour is a crucial part of our preparation for the European leg of the Pro League. Playing against a quality side like Australia will challenge our players and provide valuable insights into our progress. We’ve shown our potential against top teams, like the Netherlands, and we aim to build on that momentum.”
India’s recent victory over Australia can serve as motivation as well. India won by a slim margin of 1-0 in their most recent encounter, which took place during the FIH Pro League 2023–24. India shocked the three-time Olympic winners 1-0 in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics quarterfinals to advance to the semi-finals, demonstrating the two teams’ intense rivalry. Australia won the shootout after the teams drew 1-1 in regulation time of the 2022 Commonwealth Games semifinal.
However, Australia has the historical edge because they have won 10 of the 16 meetings between the two teams since 2013. Three games have ended in draws, while three have been won by India.
