Australia women prepare for their next Generation Hockey World Cup 2022

Australia women leave for Europe and begin women's World Cup preparations next month with a keen eye on the future. The team of 18 players Hockeyroos team, who finished fourth at the 2018 World Cup, features five athletes with less than 10 games of experience, and four more who have less than 25 games to their credit.


Claire Colwill, 18, is one of 10 athletes set to compete at their very first World Cup. It's a 'wonderful feeling to be part of the team and following the path of so many outstanding Australian women hockey athletes.


Coach Katrina Powell is confident that her team has all the ingredients to bring high-energy rapid-paced and brutal competitiveness to this summer. Jane Claxton will join an exclusive list of Hockeyroo greats when she takes part in her 200th game at the World Cup.


The Hockeyroos are in Pool D with Belgium, Japan, and South Africa for the 15th edition. All of the Hockeyroos' Pool games take place on the Spanish island of Terrassa, Spain.


The team has won the World Cup twice (1994, 1998) The Hockeyroos placed fourth at the final tournament of 2018. The Netherlands have been the current champions.


Sonika was also able to recount how she began becoming interested in the sport at the age of was only nine years old. An invitation from an experienced hockey coach from her high school located in Hisar, Haryana, sparked the desire of young Sonika to take up the sport. "It was the first time I had seen someone wearing the Indian tracksuit. I wanted to wear the same and represent my country on the biggest platforms," Sonika stated. Sonika's coach advised her to be determined to achieve her goals. Since then she focused on her goals and began to train hard each day. Her father who was a former volleyball player, provided her with all the support she needed to play the sport. Her mother also was adamant about the neighbors who complained about them pushing their daughter to play sports.


In the year 2011, Sonika participated in her first rural Nationals for Haryana in Ranchi. After that, she join the Senior Nationals team that won the Gold medal in 2013. For the 2013 New Zealand Test series, Sonika made her debut with the India the Junior Women's National Team prior to leading this team's captain in Spain during the Five-Nations tournament. Sonika was selected for the Senior Women's National Camp in 2016. She made her senior debut at the Hawke's Bay Cup in New Zealand. Sonika was also part of the Indian Women's Senior Team which took home the Gold medal at the Women's Asia Cup in the year 2017. In 2020, following having completed the New Zealand Tour in January, Sonika decided to take off from the sports and National camp during the lockdown of Covid-19 in order for time to enjoy her loved ones.

"I wanted to be with my family amid the lockdown. I was finding it hard to focus on the sport. I am thankful to my parents, my teammates and the Hockey India coaching staff, who all really supported me at that time," she added. "Everyone stayed in touch with me and kept motivating me to bounce back. It really helped me out a lot," Sonika stated. When she turned 2021 Sonika chose to an appearance in hockey again by participating in her first ever Senior Nationals.

 "The Senior Nationals gave me a platform to showcase my talent once again, and gave me a chance to bounce back. I feel grateful that I am back on the field again. I am thankful to everyone who stuck by me during that time." in 2022 Sonika got selected to in the India senior Women's Hockey Team as well as representing the nation during the FIH Women's Hockey Pro League matches in 2021/22 where she's already scored a goals in the five game. With the FIH Women's World Hockey 2022 in the near future, Sonika is hopeful that India Women's Hockey Team will be able to achieve the podium this year. "We have been working really hard and we are in the camp for almost a year. We want to have a podium finish as it will be the ultimate reward for all of our hard work," Sonika left.


There is no limit to what you can do in any World Cup," said Ireland women's coach Sean Dancer. Ireland ought to know that just four years ago they made finals in the World Cup final.


The team will kick off their campaign next month, when they will face the reigning champions, who are co-hosts with the Netherlands as well. Dancer on Friday named the team for his World Cup squad which will begin with The Oranje the 2nd of July in the Amsterdam's Wagener Stadium.


Five players with no caps will make their debut in the Green Army following several international retirements that occurred following Tokyo.


Irish Under-21 Captain Caoimhe Perdue, Christina Hamill and Siofra O'Brien were all in the spotlight at their respective games at the Junior World Cup in April and were awe-inspiring - along with Katie McKee and Charlotte Beggs in recent challenges against Scotland as well as in Japan to secure their spot in the team.


"The team are excited about our progress and the opportunities that lie ahead over the next month, and know that anything is possible at a World Cup," Dancer stated.


"Our whole team, personnel and players have been extremely busy in the past month, to master the fundamentals that an all-new group must accomplish. It's been a difficult but extremely enjoyable time."


The games with Chile as well as Germany will follow after Chile and Germany follow the Dutch opener. The top spot in the group is automatically advanced to the quarter-finals with the second and third nations playing an extra game to make it to that stage of the playoff for crossovers. Fourth place will advance to the 9th-16th place playoffs.


"The World Cup is always a tough tournament but what a great challenge to be playing the best team in the world, first game up, in front of their home crowd," Dancer said.


"We have determined that we will get the possibility of a successful outcome against Chile and we will be preparing for the playoffs day-by-day, as we are at the stage.


With just 30 days to go for the quadrennial event to start, there is an assumption that the players in the camp that the coming away games from the FIH Hockey Pro League 2021/22 with Belgium, Argentina, and the United States will be a excellent opportunity to prepare for the major task ahead.


"The camp is buzzing with excitement and positive energy. The players are training together and there is a real sense of unity among the younger set of players and the senior ones. Everyone is looking forward to the upcoming away matches of the FIH Pro League Games in Belgium and The Netherlands as they will really help the team in growing further as a unit," Indian Women's Hockey Team goalie Savita stated.


"Our team has made remarkable improvement over the past few months and we are training really hard to continue on the same trajectory. We are gaining confidence each day and will hope to give our best performance at the FIH Hockey Women's World Cup 2022," she said.


In the lead up to the important event ahead of the prestigious event, India's Indian Women's Hockey Team will play against Belgium at Belgium in the FIH Hockey Pro League 2021/22 games on the 11th of June 2022 between 12 and June 2022. The team will then travel into the Netherlands to take on Argentina on the 18th of June in 2022 as well as 19 June 2022. On the 21st of June and 22 June 22 June, and 22 June, the Indian Women's Hockey Team will take on America. United States. Indian Women's Hockey Team is currently third on the FIH Pro League table behind Argentina and the Netherlands.


Indian Women's Hockey Team defender Deep Grace Ekka further spoke about how playing more time against teams that are strong can help players prepare for their participation in the FIH the Hockey World Cup for Women 2022. "We have a busy schedule ahead of us in the lead-up to the FIH Hockey Women's World Cup 2022, and we are looking forward to it because the more games we play against the stronger teams, the better prepared we will be for the tournament. Everyone is focusing on their fitness and paying more attention to the post-match recovery process to be prepared for the tournament," Deep Grace Ekka said.