The Indian Women’s Hockey team is all set to battle it out in the HWL semis and they were greeted by one of the most inspirational women in Indian sporting history before the start of their campaign.
Mary Kom was called in to give a pep talk to the young Indian team and she did not disappoint one bit. For someone who has battled all odds to reach the top, coming up with a good pep talk wouldn’t have been tough, and Mary Kom did just that.
She was in called for a prompt one hour session, a surprise for the departing Indian Women’s team and they simply loved the session. The Indian Team is on its way to Johannesburg for the HWL semis.
“We did everything in our capacity to prepare ourselves for the event. We even had an hour long inspirational session with Mary Kom yesterday. It was a surprise for the girls and they really liked it very much,” said Marije Sjoerd, the Indian Women’s team coach.
The HWL semis is scheduled from July 8 to July 23, and India are grouped with Argentina, South Africa and Chile. India needs to finish in the top 5 to qualify for the World Cup!
“During the session Mary told her story to the girls. She talked about all the hardships she overcame. She talked about how important is the mental preparation. It was really an inspirational session,” he said.
“Our goal is to qualify for the World Cup. Argentina and USA are two higher ranked teams in our pool but we are not at all bothered about our opponents. We are just focussing on our game,” he added.
The Indian coach has been trying to get the Indian girls in a good head space before major tournaments and he feels that the girls are in the correct mindset before the HWL semis.
“The self belief is getting much better. The better the results the higher will be the confidence of the girls. They have also improved their fitness a lot. They now can play harder,” he said.
India start their campaign against South Africa on July 8.
