New Delhi, (Asian independent) India’s women’s hockey team will play eight matches against Argentina in a tour of the country, with the first match scheduled to be played on January 17. A core group of 25 players and seven support staff will be leaving for Argentina on January 3.
This will be the first time in over a year that the women’s team will play at the international level. The matches will be played in a bio-secure environment with Hockey India (HI) and the Argentine Hockey Confederation (CAH) deciding to create a bio bubble for both teams.
Indian players will be staying in a hotel where a provision to have separate rooms for the team for all the meals, team meetings, sessions etc have been made.
“The accommodation will be on twin sharing basis, where the room sharing partners will remain same throughout the tour who will also be same even in case of the seating arrangement in the team coach/bus, this has been planned carefully keeping in mind all necessary requirements,” said HI in its statement.
“The team members will not be moving out of the bubble and meeting any third-party source as even while travelling to the match/training venue the team will be travelling in a dedicated transport which will only take upto 80 per cent capacity. The local resources along with the team eg. Team bus/coach, drivers, support staff will all remain the same throughout the tour to avoid any lapses in any way possible. There will be no movement for members to move out of the hotel except for training & match days.”
India’s last international assignment was a tour of New Zealand in January 2020. India faced New Zealand and Great Britain in the five-match series and were victorious in three games that they played during the tour.