The battle to earn a berth for the Paris Olympics begins tomorrow, with the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers 2024 kicking off in Ranchi, Jharkhand at the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Astro Turf on Saturday in Ranchi.
The eight teams in the fray include Germany, Japan, Chile and Czech Republic in Pool A while hosts India are clubbed in Pool B with New Zealand, United States and Italy.
Only the top 3 teams in the tournament will make the qualification cut. Vying for their third consecutive Olympic berth, the Savita-led Indian women's hockey team is optimistic about their chances.
Going into the tournament as the second-highest-ranked team, the hosts will be riding on some significant performances in recent times, namely the Asian Champions Trophy, where they avenged their loss to China in the semi-finals of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou. "We are ready for the tournament.