"Our main goal was to qualify for the World Cup"- Indian women's hockey coach Janneke Schopman

Indian women's hockey coach Janneke Schopman recently stated that the main goal of the team was to qualify for the 2022 FIH World Cup when they stepped out to compete at the 2022 Asia Cup.

India, along with Japan, South Korea and China, have qualified for the 2022 FIH World Cup to be co-hosted by Spain and the Netherlands later this year.

Speaking about securing qualification for the FIH Hockey Women's World Cup, Schopman said that the team's main goal in the tournament has been achieved. Janneke Schopman said:

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

Janneke Schopman also spoke about the team's performance and gameplay so far in the tournament. He added:

"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."

"We want to focus on the Korea game" - Janneke Schopman

The Indian women's hockey team will be up against South Korea in the first semi-final clash of the Asia Cup on Wednesday. Coach Schopman stated that now that the team has qualified for the World Cup, they are currently concentrating on the game against Korea. He said:

"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."

He added:

"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."

Asia Cup 2022: India vs South Korea Timings

India vs South Korea: January 26 Timings: 6:00 pm (IST)