Young midfielder Salima Tete wants to utilise her Tokyo Olympics experience when India play in the FIH Women’s Junior World Cup in South Africa next month. Only 19, Salima has worked hard over the last three years to cement her place in the senior side, which registered a historic fourth-place finish in this year’s Tokyo Games.
“I have been really fortunate to get this kind of exposure with the senior team so early in my career. Playing under pressure and also understanding what it really takes to play at the highest level have been some of the key takeaways for me. “I look forward to using this experience while working with my teammates from the junior core group,” said Salima ahead of the tournament starting December 5. The Indian junior women’s team is grouped in Pool C along with Argentina, Japan and Russia. The other sides in the fray include Netherlands, Korea, Ireland, Zimbabwe in Pool A. England, Belgium, Canada and Uruguay are in Pool B and Germany, while Pool D comprises Spain, United States and South Africa.
With just a month to go for the quadrennial event, Salima, who also led the Indian U-18 team to a silver medal at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in 2018, believes they are shaping up well. “The team has been preparing well. I have been part of this camp since September and I see a lot of improvement and there is a lot of excitement among the players. We get to play some internal matches with the senior team which is great exposure for youngsters in this squad. “The Indian junior team also did well when they travelled to Chile earlier this year for some Test matches,” she said. “We are extremely inspired by the senior team and they all want to eventually play for the senior side and realise that the upcoming Junior World Cup is a perfect platform to showcase their talent.”
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