Indian eves look to break jinx,face Ukraine in opener

Towards the end of their final practice session ahead of the Olympic qualifiers at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium on Friday,the Indian womens hockey team practiced their penalty corner drills one last time. In an effort to stay behind the goalline before the ball was pushed out,one of the defenders overbalanced and fell through the goal box,yet to be fitted with a net. The gaffe drew peals of laughter all around. That moment of lightheartedness broke the atmosphere of nervous energy that had hung over the field for more than an hour and a halfs training. Till then,the team had gone about ironing their deficiencies in near silence.

The nervousness was perhaps justified,given that winning the competition will ensure Indian womens hockey a presence at the Olympics for the first time since 1980 when the sport was first introduced at the Games. At the Moscow Games,the womens team was nominated and since then they have failed to qualify for the Olympics. When the Indian women take the field on Saturday against Ukraine,it will be their first step towards earning an Olympic berth through the qualifier route. We keep telling each other that if we dont make it here,it will be another four years before we get a chance. Who knows who will be playing then, admits forward Poonam Rani.

India are ranked 13 in the world and the second highest in the fray,behind African champions South Africa (12),and their opener against Ukraine (26) should be easy. Coach CR Kumar,though,is cautious. We have seen video of Ukraines practice match against Italy and they have skilled players, he said.

Kumar admits his team still has to work on certain aspects. We conceded early in some matches and we have worked on them. We set targets for every practice game and the girls have not repeated any of their mistakes, Kumar said.He admits the league game against South Africa will be most crucial. While only a final victory will count,a win in the league phase will give us the confidence,provided we reach. But we are hopeful, said Kumar.

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