Rani Rampal ready to lead Women's Hockey team against South Korea

On a comeback trail, Indian women's hockey team skipper Rani Rampal is expecting high-intensity action in the three-match series against hosts Korea, starting in Jinchun from Monday. Rani had missed the previous Malaysia series due to a shoulder injury along with drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur, who had a hamstring issue.

The team left for Korea Saturday morning and Rani said it will be a good opportunity to prepare for the forthcoming FIH Women's Series Finals in Hiroshima.

"This will be an important series for myself and Gurjit because we are coming back after rehabilitation. Playing high-intensity matches will put us in the right rhythm before we set off for the FIH Women's Series Finals," said Rani.

"There have been some different things we have tried in this recent national camp in terms of creating variations inside the circle. We will get to try and test these methods against this strong team and basis how we execute these changes we can plan better for the next big tournament," she added.

The Women's Series Finals Hiroshima 2019 is scheduled to be held from 15 to 23.

"The team is confident about playing against a tough team like the Republic Of Korea in conditions best suited for them. The series will be very challenging given how the Korean National Team has been playing lately. Doing well against them will be vital in our preparations for the FIH Women's Series Finals," said Rani.

At the start of the year, the Indian team had toured Spain in January-February, competing against the host nation and Ireland. They finished with record two wins, three draws and a loss.
The team also embarked on a Malaysia Tour in April and remained unbeaten, winning four matches and drawing one.