'We lacked in strength'

The bright-eyed Junior women hockey outfit, who for the first time reached the Asia Cup Championship final, was on Monday felicitated by the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

The Indian girls beat Japan 2-1 to enter the final before going down to China 2-5 in a rain-interrupted final in Bangkok. The silver medal finish was the best result by any Indian women junior hockey team, who had earlier had four bronze medal finishes.

The win ensured a slot in the Junior Women's World Cup next year.
The team had a three-month training session in Bhopal and Delhi.
They also went to Bangkok a week before the tournament to acclimatise. The Indian team had aspired for a gold medal and rued the missed opportunities after leading 2-0 at halftime.

“We should have got a gold. But we lost because of our mistakes. I feel we lacked in speed,” said captain Ritu Rani, who also plays in the senior team. Apart from Ritu, Sushila Chanu and Poonam Rani also figure in the senior squad.

The team’s coaches were happy with the side’s performance. “After the final, we felt that we also need to train the girls to play during and after the rain. We faced the same thing with our under-18 side once. After rain, conditions become difficult and you need strength. While our girls had the skill, we lacked in strength,” said coach Pritam Shiwach, also a former India captain.

The young girls were presented with a tri-colour scarf and a gift by SAI Director General and the chief guest Gopal Krishna. “We will do our best to give them all possible facilities,” he said. Hockey India secretary-general Narinder Batra was the guest of honour.