The Indian women's hockey team led by captain Salima Tete has geared up to get the title of the 8th Women's Asian Champions Trophy 2024 on the home soil of Rajgir Bihar. Commencing today, 11 November 2024, the biennial field hockey tournament organized by the Asian Hockey Federation will be hosted in Rajgir Hockey Stadium and the finals will be competed on 20 November 2024. The mega tournament will feature Paris Olympics silver medalists China, along with Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand.
2024 resulted as a challenging year for the Indian women's hockey team as they lost 13 matches, secured only two, and drew one out of 16 in the Women's FIH Pro League. Despite this, they are learning to embrace failure and working passionately on their mistakes to grab fruitful results. Despite this, they are learning to embrace failure and own their mistakes. Chief coach Harendra Singh hopes to turn things around with a promising performance in the Women's Asian Champions Trophy.
The chief coach mentioned "Whatever has happened in the Pro League is in the past, we can't keep crying about that. Yes, we know we lost 13 games but there are other reasons behind it. Not much technical, but tactical." He added "But if you see the last few games against Germany and England, we were close in those games, and that's where the confidence has come from, in trusting the process." He emphasized the importance of discipline and teamwork in the Indian Navy Academy, highlighting the team's journey from the Paris setback to the INA.
India's squad, led by Salima Tete and Navneet Kaur, combines youth and experience. Despite the disappointment of not boarding the ship to Paris, they are working hard to secure the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
