The presence of three Olympians, including skipper Salima Tete, will certainly be an advantage for the Indian hockey team when it competes at the FIH Women's Junior World Cup, beginning here on Friday.
Apart from Tete, mid-fielder Sharmila Devi and striker Lalremsiami were part of the senior team which finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics.
The Indian team will begin its campaign in Pool D against Wales on Saturday before taking on formidable Germany on Sunday following the final tie against Malaysia.
The 20-year-old Salima is a vital cog in the Indian midfield. She has already proved her capabilities in the successful Olympics campaign.
Lalresiami, the first woman Olympian from Mizoram, is a nimble-footed striker, known for quick and poaching movements inside the opposition circle.
The 20-year-old Sharmila, also an energetic forward, has impressed all with her brilliant runs from both the flanks during the Olympics. She also scored a goal in India's pool stage match against Great Britain.
The coveted quadrennial tournament, which was originally scheduled for December, was postponed due to the Omicron-threat in South Africa.
"There is a lot of excitement among the players. Everyone has worked so hard for this moment and used the postponement to gain better exposure, improve as a team so we can put up our best performance here," said Tete, who had led the U-18 team to a silver medal at the Youth Olympics in 2018.
Highlighting the team's preparations, the Indian skipper said: "Coming here early has helped us tremendously. 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. It definitely helped to have our last camp before coming here in Bhubaneswar where we trained in quite hot conditions."
The squad also boasts of vice-captain Ishika Chaudhary, goalkeeper Bichu Devi Kharibam, defender Akshata Abaso Dekhale and Sangita Kumari, who made their senior India debut recently at the FIH Hockey Pro League matches against Germany.
"Many of us in the team got an opportunity to play with the senior team and we also trained alongside them in Bhubaneswar. I feel this experience will definitely help us in the Junior World Cup," Chaudhary said.
India, who have appeared in four editions of the junior global event, claimed their best finish in 2013 with a bronze. The team did not qualify for the last edition of the tournament,
