The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has temporarily stopped hockey activities for a week at the National Stadium in New Delhi from Thursday due to a surge in new cases of coronavirus.
The final quarter saw some nail-biting moments, with both the teams upping the ante but neither allowed a goal with the match ending in a 1-1 deadlock.
Pia Maertens (10', 14'), Lena Micheel (20'), Pauline Heinz (28') and Lisa Altenburg (41') found the back of the net for the hosts.
After a two-week break following their Argentina tour, the core group assembled at the Sports Authority of India (SAI), Bengaluru and will undergo mandatory quarantine.
Beauty scored a hat-trick in India's first match against the Chile junior team which helped set up a comfortable 5-3 win.
Goals from Sharmila (34th) and Gurjit Kaur (40th) gave India the lead after the hosts had scored in the 25th minute via Micaela Retegui but Argentina came up with back-to-back strikes in the final quarter.
She added that it will be a good test to assess their mental and physical strength as Indian team trains in Argentina.
In recent years, India has hosted some of the biggest hockey events globally, and the International Hockey Federation (FIH) awarded Hockey India with the hosting rights for the Junior Men's World Cup 2021.
Clark, who will join the national camp this month, had coached the Indian junior men's team in 2013-2014 when it won the Sultan of Johor Cup and also participated at the 2013 FIH Junior World Cup in New Delhi.
With only 200 days to go for the Olympics, Manpreet and Rani, the women's team skipper, believe the players in respective core groups will have to give their 100 per cent to be able to achieve their goals in Tokyo.
The Indian team is scheduled to play four matches against the world number two Argentina side (January 26, 28, 30, 31).
Spread over 15 acres of land, the stadium will be constructed in the Biju Patnaik University of Technology campus.
The Australian coach said the sooner India gets to play international matches, the better willbe their preparations for the Olympics.
Shilanand Lakra, a young forward in the Indian men's hockey team, is determined to make the most of the ongoing period where he has having found the opportunity to focus on personal development since the Covid-19 pandemic struck.
The committee's first responsibility will be to ensure all the masters athletes of various age categories are registered on the Hockey India member units portal.
"It is a proud moment for me and my state", said Gyanendro Ningombam after being elected as the new President of Hockey India on November 8.
Hockey India also named Rakesh Kumar as the best employee while for his outstanding efforts in officiating at international & domestic level tournaments.
Ahmad, however, remains in the federation after being elected unopposed for the senior vice-president's post at HI's Congress and Elections here.
Reena Khokhar revealed that the FIH Olympic Qualifiers 2019 is her favourite tournament to date.
The forward said she particularly learned a lot from the close encounter between the Netherlands and Great Britain in the FIH Hockey Pro League on Tuesday.
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