Akshata Abaso Dhekale: "I gained a lot of experience in the two games"

Indian women's hockey team defender Akshata Abaso Dhekale made her senior international debut in the FIH Hockey Pro League mini-series against Germany. The two matches were a huge learning curve for the young defender, who adapted to the gulf between junior and senior levels.

Speaking about her experience of wearing the Indian jersey for the first time, Akshata said it was a proud moment for her and her family.

"It was a very proud moment for me to be a part of the team. My family was very happy as well. I made my debut at home and it was an unforgettable experience," Akshata told Hockey India.

She opened up about her own performance and revealed what her teammates told her after the two games.

"My teammates told me that my performance was good considering it was my first tournament. But I felt I made a few errors in the second game due to pressure. I gained a lot of experience in the two games and I hope to improve my game going forward," she added.

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Akshata opens up on difference between junior and senior levels

Akshata, who hails from Satara district of Maharashtra, trained at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune and went on to lead Maharashtra at the Junior Nationals tournament in Kerala in 2019.

After a string of solid performances, she was selected for the Indian junior team camp. She became a part of the Indian junior women's team that traveled to Chile for a six-match series in 2021.

The young player opened up on the differences in playing at the junior and senior level and revealed the areas she feels she can improve upon in the future.

"There is a lot of difference between playing at the junior and senior levels. The game's speed is quite high at the senior level and the standards are very high," the defender said.

She added:

"Playing against Germany, I realized I must improve quite a lot to play regularly at this level. I am ready to work hard to ensure I keep getting a chance to play consistently for the senior team."

India and Germany played a couple of humdingers last weekend, where both matches were decided in a shootout after a 1-1 draw in regulation time.

While Germany won the first shootout 2-1, India won the second 3-0.