Women's Hockey WC: India striker Katariya says 'need to be consistent in every quarter'

Experienced Indian women's hockey team forward Vandana Katariya stated recently that being consistent in each quarter of every match will be key to the team's success in the World Cup, which begins on Friday.

The tournament commences with the match between co-hosts Spain and Canada in Terrassa, Spain. India will open their campaign against England in pool B here on Sunday.

Speaking on the team's prospects, Vandana Katariya said, "Each match in the group stage will be crucial and we cannot take any team easy. The most important aspect for us is to be consistent in every single quarter and be the best we can without worrying too much about the opponent."

"This is something we have learnt over the years and it has really worked for us," Vandana added.

After England, India will play China on July 5, followed by a match against New Zealand on July 7. 

"We have played practice matches against Chile and Ireland. Both were very good as we were able to practice some tactical moves for the upcoming games and were able to get used to the field which is always easier when you train on it," explained Vandana. 

"We have one more training session and we are ready to go," she added.

"It will be a very interesting and intense World Cup and I anticipate matches to be quite close as almost five to six teams are at par with each other," added the experienced striker who has over 250 international caps to her name.

Image: PTI