FIH Olympic Qualifiers | Kathleen Sharkey excited to play in India for first time
Ahead of the FIH Olympic Qualifiers matches against India, USA women’s hockey team’s skipper Kathleen Sharkey has expressed his excitement to play in India for the first time. The USA women will take on Rani Rampal and co. in the two games at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar next month.
The USA women’s team arrived today at the Biju Patnaik International Airport ahead of their two FIH Olympic Qualifier games on November 1 and 2. The world no. 13 team will meet India in both the games with an aim of making it to the Tokyo Olympics to be played next year. The USA team's skipper Kathleen Sharkey expressed her team's excitement to play a major event here in India.
"It is exciting to be in India. None of us have been here before but we know India has a great history in hockey and people here are very passionate about the sport with a lot of fans coming to watch the matches live. We saw the spectacular Men's World Cup hosted here in Bhubaneswar. We are looking forward to play here and take home the experience of playing in one of the world's most famous city for hockey," Sharkey was quoted as saying by Hockey India.
Sharkey has an experience of 174 international matches and will want to perform as per her potential against the hosts. The last meeting between the two teams had ended in a 1-1 draw at the 2018 Women's World Cup in London.
"Our goal is obviously to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. We want to put forth our best in those two games and make sure we play to our potential against India," explained the USA captain.
The American girls will be guided by head coach Janneke Schopman in the two qualifying games against India. Schopman also talked about the excitement of her side ahead of the matches in India as most of the players in the USA team are in India for the first time to play a competitive game.
"We are well-prepared for the Indian team. They have progressed well over the past year and so have we. We have been following India matches lately. We are expecting close matches and our team is very excited to be here," stated the USA coach.
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