Indian hockey forward Mariana Kujur keen to make an impression at the 2022 Asia Cup

Indian hockey forward Mariana Kujur will be a part of the upcoming Women's Asia Cup 2022. She believes it will be a good opportunity to kickstart her campaign in the senior women's team.

The youngster, from Odisha, expressed her excitement and is really looking forward to having a good outing ahead of the big-ticket event.

Mariana Kujur is one of the youngest members of the Indian team taking part in the Women's Hockey Asia Cup.

Mariana, in an official HI release, said:

"I am grateful for this opportunity. The Women's Asia Cup is a very prestigious tournament in the international calendar and I really want to use this opportunity to perform the role I've been assigned and live up to the team's expectations."

The Indian Women's Hockey Team reached Muscat, Oman on January 17 ahead of the Women's Asia Cup 2022 . The hockey tournament is slated to take place from January 21-28 at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat.

Team India will kickstart their Asia Cup campaign against Malaysia on January 21, 2022.

Mariana added:

"After arriving in Muscat, we had a few good sessions of hockey. The weather is quite pleasant and we are getting used to the pitch at the Sultan Quboos Sports Complex. It is a beautiful venue and the team is quite excited ahead of the first match."

Mariana Kujur sheds light on practice sessions with senior compatriots

Mariana provided some insights on the practice sessions with the senior teammates and all that she had learned from them. She also spoke about the onfield communication and understanding that she developed during practice sessions with her compatriots.

Mariana looked up to senior compatriots Deep Grace Ekka, Lilima Minz and Nimita Toppo. However, midfielder Lilima Minz recently announced her retirement after a decade in the sport.

Mariana said:

"The past few weeks in the camp in Bengaluru was good for me as I worked on understanding the level at which the Senior team plays and I believe I have developed good on-field communication with the players particularly in the forwardline and the midfield."

The forward, who idiolizes Deep Grace, spoke about the support and advice that she received from the vice captain.

"Deep Grace is such a cool-headed player. She never lets the opponents get the better of her even in pressure situations. There is a lot that I can learn from her and she's been quite supportive all along. She always advices me to play my natural game and not feel the pressure of playing for the Senior side. I think that way, all the players have been quite supportive ."