Main goal was to qualify for Hockey World Cup, we did that: Women's coach Schopman

Muscat [Oman], January 25 (ANI): Achieving their first target of sealing a berth for the FIH Hockey Women's World Cup Spain and Netherlands 2022, the defending champions India will battle Pool B winners South Korea on Wednesday for a place in the final of Women's Asia cup 2022 here in Muscat, Oman.

The Savita-led side, who kickstarted their campaign with a dominating 9-0 win over Malaysia, went down against Japan (0-2) in their second match of the Women's Asia Cup 2022. However, they bounced back in style to claim a massive 9-1 win to seal a spot in the semi-final of the competition.

Reflecting on the team's performance so far, chief coach Janneke Schopman said, "The Malaysia game was very good, at times against Japan, we played a fast-paced game against a good team, a good defensive team, and yesterday, you know, it was going to be hard against teams that just want to slow down the game. So overall, I am quite happy with the number of corners we created and pretty happy with the tournament so far, and excited to see what's next."

Speaking about the qualification for the FIH Hockey Women's World Cup Spain & Netherlands 2022, which is scheduled to be held in Spain & Netherlands later this year, Schopman expressed that the team's main goal in the tournament has been achieved.

"Of course, our main goal was to qualify for the World Cup, and we did that. It's really exciting, we to be present at the highest level of women's competition and compete with the best teams around the world," said the chief coach.

Speaking about India's match-up against Korea, which has been unbeaten in the tournament so far, Janneke said that she is looking forward to seeing if her team can execute skills and strategic plans against the Korean side, which has got a lot of speed and experience.

"As I said, our main goal has been achieved, now we want to focus on the Korea game. Playing the Semi-Final is always special, those games are exciting as players, as a staff, we want to play and execute our game plan. Korea has a lot of speed, they have some good experience in their team as well. I am looking forward to seeing if we can execute our skills, our defence strategic plans, and I am sure if we can do that and stay calm then we can create a lot of opportunities, play a really good game and proceed to the Final," she concluded.

The Indian Women's Hockey team will take on Korea in the semi-final of the Women's Asia Cup 2022 on Wednesday. (ANI)