The women's team, left for the event with 'Chak De India' music CDs in their kit, buoyed by the Bollywood flick's success and have resolved to seek motivation from it.
HONG KONG: Not withstanding their debacle in warm-up game against New Zealand, holders Indian will seek to defend their title as they start their campaign in the 6th Asia Cup women's hockey tournament against Malaysia here on Sunday.
The Indian women's team, left for the event with 'Chak De India' music CDs in their kit, buoyed by the Bollywood flick's success and have resolved to seek motivation from it.
Providence has conspired to provide the Indians some aid by putting them in an easier draw. In Pool A, the major rival for India will be the fifth ranked China as other sides are way below in terms of their rankings -- Malaysia (24th), Singapore (47th) and Thailand (55th).
For the 13th ranked Indians, going would be easier in the initial phase as they meet Malaysia (tomorrow), Thailand (Sunday), Singapore (Sep 5) before taking on heavyweights China (Sep 6).
Pool B, on the other hand, have strong contenders Japan and Korea besides minnows Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei.
Led by striker Mamta Kharb, the Indian team, which trained for a brief period by Dutch coach Herman Kruis, does not have too many experienced players though the younger players have showed promise.
However, the Indians coached by G S Bhangu did not experience a desired start to the tour as they lost their lone warm-up game to New Zealand 2-0 yesterday, through goals by Jaimee Claxton and Honor Dillon.
The tournament will outrank even the Asian Games in terms of the number of participating teams.
For China, the tournament is an important part of their build up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
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