New Delhi, Nov. 5 (IANS): Indian women’s team head coach Maymol Rocky echoed her players sentiments ahead of their second FIFA friendly against Vietnam, stating that they are ready to bounce back when they lock horns at the Vietnam Football Training Centre on Wednesday.
The first of the two friendlies ended with a 0-3 loss for the Indians. However, Rocky believes that her charges have taken home a lot from the game.
"It was a difficult first game for us, but we have learnt a lot about ourselves and about our opponents in that defeat," Rocky said.
Despite the loss, Maymol saw the opportunity to mark the areas where the team needs to put in more work. "We identified the areas where we need to work on and have been trying to improve on those departments over the last couple of days," she said.
The coach gave the example of the team's friendlies against Uzbekistan earlier this year, when India suffered a heavy loss in the first game, only to bounce back with a 1-1 draw in the second one.
"The most important thing is that even when we lose, the players learn something from that. When we had played against Uzbekistan, we lost the first match 1-5 but then worked on our errors to bounce back in the next game. That is the kind of reaction we are looking for from the girls now," said Rocky.
"What we have to keep in mind is that we need to gain the experience of playing these tough international opponents so that we will be ready for the challenge when we play the AFC Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers next year," she concluded.
U-17 team to camp for 10 days in Kalyani
The India U-17 women's football team will undergo a 10-day camp in Kalyani, West Bengal as part of their preparation for next year's FIFA World Cup.
The India U-17 women's team has already been in camp for the last four months, and after a brief break, the players will once again assemble in Kalyani on November 9.
The probables in the camp will be divided into four different teams, who will play each other in the round-robin format on November 11, 13, and 15.
Coach Alex Ambrose, who recently led India to the SAFF U-15 Women's Championship 2019 title last month, believes that this tournament will help the coaching staff gauge the talent pool that they have at their disposal.
"The tournament in Kalyani will open up a lot of avenues for us. We have already had a set bunch of players for four months now but this will allow us to take a look at other players as well," said Ambrose. "This is the future of women's football in India, and we need to build them up in the best possible manner, in order to further improve."
The coach also believes that the 10 days in Kalyani will be crucial for the girls who did not get much game-time in the previous exposure tours or in the SAFF U-15 Championship.
"Also, for the girls who did not get much match-time in the exposure tours or in the U-15 SAFF Championship, it is a good opportunity to show what they have got," he rounded off.
