India confident of semis berth
After undergoing rigorous training in the last three months, the Indian netball team are confident of reaching the semifinals of the 7th Asian Youth Netball Championships that gets under way at the renovated Thyagaraj Sports Complex here from Saturday.
Six teams including Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Sri Lanka are in for the week-long tournament, which is also a test event for the Commonwealth Games.
India will take on Thailand in their opening match of the tournament that follows a round robin format in the first stage, after which the top four teams progress to the semifinals.
“We are totally prepared for the championship and I am very confident that India will at least reach the semifinals. I think the target isn’t unrealistic as apart from defending champions Malaysia and Singapore I don’t see any other country giving us a stiff challenge. Though we cannot take things for granted,” national coach Panchali Tatke told this newspaper on Thursday.
“We have trained without any breaks in the last three months at the Genesis Global School in Noida and had also went to Australia and a few European countries for further training in the past one year which I feel has been a good exposure for the girls,” Tatke said.
The Indians will miss the services of experienced defender Ramandeep, who is suffering from a slipped disc after getting injured during a practice match.
India captain Prachi Tehlan said that a good result in this tournament would boost their confidence.
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