Ranchi, Jan 4 (PTI) The United States women’s hockey co-captain Ashley Hoffman will be banking on the past experience of playing in India to secure a 2024 Paris Olympic berth when the Olympic Qualifiers commence here on January 13.
The USA team, led by co-captains Amanda Golini and Hoffman will take on India in a Pool B match on January 13, which will be the first meeting between the two teams since the 2021-22 Women’s Hockey Pro League match.
The world No. 15 side will then play Italy on January 14, followed by their final pool game against New Zealand on January 16.
Both Golini and Hoffman were part of the USA team that faced off against India in the 2019 Olympics qualifiers. India qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on aggregate score — a 5-1 win in the first game and a 1-4 loss in the second — while USA were unable to book a Games berth.
Asked about the learnings from the previous experience of playing the Olympic qualifiers in India, Hoffman, who arrived with the team here on Thursday, said, “Throughout our preparations, we have been leaning on our previous experiences of playing in India, with the environments with the loud crowds, and we have shared the same with the rest of the team.
“We are confident that this experience will be crucial in guiding us, especially in a packed stadium with Indian fans.” Detailing the reason for arriving at the venue early, Golini said it was part of the team’s strategy.
“No matter where we go, our staff does a great job of planning so that we get acclimatised to the weather, the conditions. So, it is definitely a part of the strategy to reach a bit early,” said Golini.
The USA women’s team that came to India in 2019 was trained by Janneke Schopman, the current Indian team coach.
On her experiences of playing under Schopman, Hoffman said, “I think coaches evolve as players do, so I am sure to expect new things from her since it’s been a few years since she has coached us.
“But I am sure we can expect a few things similar that are staple style of her hockey tactics. I am overall very excited to play against her. This will be an exciting way to meet her again,” she added.
US team coach David Passmore termed his players an exciting bunch, which has “gelled well” over the last few months.
“Overall, it’s still quite a young squad in terms of caps, and age, but it’s also a really exciting squad. We have some great young players and thankfully we have a few players who have played in this environment before in Olympic qualifiers.
“So, it’s a real mixture and blend. We have gelled really well over the last six months as a group, which is most important. We have a great deal of self-belief. If we play our best, we can beat everyone. We need to take it one game at a time,” he added.
Source: PTI News
