- Indian Women's Hockey Team to tour Australia from 26th April to 4th May
- India to play two opening games against Australia A
- Then there were three games against the Australian senior national team
India Women's Hockey Team is preparing for a thrilling tour to Australia in which they will be competing in a five-match series from 26th April to 4th May. The series will start with two matches against Australia A and then three matches against senior national Australian team.
Indian Women's Hockey Team is ready for a battle-hardened tour of Australia, which will start with back-to-back matches against Australia A on 26th and 27th April. This will be followed by three high-intensity matches against world No. 5 ranked Hockeyroos on 1st, 3rd, and 4th May. All the matches will be played at the Perth Hockey Stadium.
India currently sits ninth on the FIH World Rankings but is hoping to carry recent performances through to its global competition days and make successful shows internationally. The Australia tour has been interpreted as the buildup before the start of the FIH Pro League 2024-25, which kicks off in June on the European tour.
The Indian side goes into the series on confidence after forcing world No.1 Netherlands to a 2-2 draw and earning a bonus point in an edge-of-the-seat shootout in Bhubaneswar—a welcome conclusion to their home leg of the Pro League.
India will also draw confidence from recent wins over Australia. In their latest game in the FIH Pro League 2023-24, India won 1-0. The team also famously defeated the Hockeyroos 1-0 during the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Semi-Final. Although Australia defeated India via shootout after a 1-1 tie in the 2022 Commonwealth Games Semi-Final, India has demonstrated that they can match terms with the three-time Olympic champions.
Australia has historically won 10 of the 16 matches between the two teams since 2013, losing to India on three occasions and drawing three matches. Commenting on the upcoming tour, Harendra Singh, Head Coach of the Indian Women’s Hockey Team, said, “This tour plays a key role in our preparations for the upcoming FIH Pro League matches in Europe. Facing a top team like Australia will challenge our players and help us assess our progress. We’ve shown Great Spirit recently, like in our match against the Netherlands, and we aim to carry that momentum forward.”
He said, "Our encounters with Australia are always challenging, but we have proven we can play at the top level. The team is concentrated and hard at work in camp fine-tuning our game before leaving for Perth." In preparation for the tour, the team is undergoing an intensive training camp at SAI, Bengaluru, emphasizing strategic planning and developing effective on-field coordination.
