DUSSELDORF: The tour of Argentina was a confidence-booster but the matches against Germany will add value to India’s Tokyo Olympics preparations, said women’s hockey team skipper Rani on the eve of the series opener against the world No. 3 side here.
After a successful tour of Argentina, the Indian women’s team is geared up for its second assignment of 2021 as it takes on Germany in a four-match series here, starting Saturday.
The 18-member Indian team’s Germany sojourn comes on the back of their seven-match outing in Argentina last month.
“Argentina tour helped us gain confidence. These back-to-back tours in a short span are like golden opportunities for us. We are just months away from the Tokyo Olympics, and these matches against top teams will help us finding loopholes and gain momentum before the Games,” Rani said.
The skipper said the matches against Germany are expected to test every aspect of their game.

“It is going to be a totally different experience than the Argentina tour. From our skills to fitness level, everything will be tested, and that’s what we as a team want. It will be a challenging tour for us, considering we will be playing back-to-back matches,” Rani said.
“Our priority, for now is to get into that competitive frame of mind. The experience of playing against a top team like Germany will really add value to our preparations for the Olympic Games.”
The second game of the series will be played on Sunday followed by the final two matches on March 2 and 3.