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Sports

Playing Olympic Qualifiers at home huge boost: Marijne

New Delhi, Sep 2 

After International Hockey Federation's announcement that the Indian women's hockey team will be playing their FIH Olympic Qualifiers at home, head coach Sjoerd Marijne said it will serve as a huge boost for his team.

"It will be the first time for a lot of our girls that they will be playing at home so we are all very excited," said Marijne.

"For us, it is important to focus on our game, and not worry about other factors involved. However, we will have a lot of people watching us, and I am sure it will serve as a huge boost to all the members of our team," he added.

33 players are currently participating in the three-week national coaching camp which began on Monday at the Sports Authority of India Campus in Bengaluru. 

After the completion of the camp, the World No. 10 Indian team will travel to England for a 5-match bilateral series with the Great Britain team starting September 27.

Last month, India defeated Japan to win the Olympic Test Event and remain on course in their preparation for the Qualifiers of 2020 Tokyo Games. 

"It was a good experience for the team at the Olympic Test Event in Tokyo, and now we look to focus on preparing for the FIH Olympic Qualifiers," Marijne said. 

"We also have a Tour of England coming up, which will also help us because playing matches against a strong opposition is good for our rhythm, and also gives us the chance to see where we can improve," he added.