Jr Women’s Hockey World Cup: India can win gold, says Sushila Chanu

Sushila Chanu

She captained India to a bronze medal finish in the 2013 Women's Junior Hockey World Cup and veteran Sushila Chanu feels the Salima Tete-led side has the potential to go two steps further and claim a maiden gold in the edition that begins on Friday.

The Indian team will begin its campaign in Pool D against Wales on Saturday in Potchefstroom, South Africa before taking on formidable Germany on Sunday. The Indians will then take on Malaysia in their final pool match before the quarterfinal round which starts on April 8.

"This is a really tight-knit group with excellent understanding between each other on the field, and off field as well. They have trained together as a group for a long time, and even played practice matches against the senior women's team in the national camp at SAI Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar in which they have contested well," Sushila said.

"The group also consists of players who have represented the senior team on the big stage like the Olympics. These reasons lead me to believe that the Indian junior team is a strong contender for the gold medal."

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