When, after three years and almost a day on the road, the Czechs landed in a city of millions in the center of a predominantly agricultural area, they were not surprised. Right at the airport, they received an unprecedented welcome. With gifts and local dancers.
“It was very nice. We received flowers around our necks, bags with local products such as a silk scarf, a necklace or earrings,” described Linda Nedvědová, a 17-year-old player of Prague Bohemians.
“They invited us to dance with them, but maybe they didn’t have to. At that moment, some of us were already on our way among the dancers,” laughed Anna Vorlová, a Rakovník player. “A bunch of photographers, videographers and reporters were already waiting for us at the airport, which speaks volumes about the popularity of field hockey in India,” she added.
Photo: Czech Field Hockey Association
Czech field hockey players experienced an unusual welcome in India, Nela Tlamsová also made waves with the dancers.
However, the Indians have won the Olympics in field hockey eight times, the women were fourth in Tokyo the last time, the sport is hugely popular in what is probably already the most populous country in the world.
And so the participants of the qualifying tournament are well taken care of. “They carry everything for us, they always ask if we need anything, we also have a great guide,” Nedvědová praises. Fears about hot food were only partially fulfilled. “They also make pasta for us to suit everyone. The hotel is nice,” he describes.
One afternoon was dedicated to visiting the local temple, otherwise they commuted between the hotel and the field. There he sees the real India. “It’s busy here. We can’t be surprised that they don’t demolish,” Nedvědová smiles at the local wild traffic. “And when we look out the window, we think how good we are in the Czech Republic, and we can’t imagine how it could be worse,” she observed.
With their own eyes, or rather with their noses, the Czechs can see how bad the air is in the country. “There’s a lot of smog, even on the playground it’s harder to breathe, we had to get used to it,” says Nedvědová.
Irish coach Gareth Grundie’s players have already played two warm-up matches in India. They lost 0:1 to the American women, 0:2 to the home Indians in a shortened duel.
Photo: Czech Field Hockey Association
Training of Czech women’s field hockey players in Ráňčí, India.
“We dominated the first part of the match, it took the Indian women to get into the match, which gave us confidence that we can play relatively evenly even against the sixth ranked team in the world,” acknowledged the captain and midfielder of Belgian Braxgata Kateřina Laciná.
Now the battle for Paris is about to break out and the Czechs can’t wait. “I haven’t seen such an organization anywhere in Europe, you can see that Indians live by hockey,” praises goalkeeper Barbora Čecháková, a mainstay of Hradec Králové.
In the Olympic qualification group, the Czechs will face Japan on Saturday from 7.30 CET, Chile on Sunday and Germany on Tuesday. The best three teams from the two groups of four will advance to Paris.
