Legendary Dutch dragflicker Taeke Taekema is set to boost the Indian women's hockey team's penalty corner skills as they prepare for the FIH Nations Cup.
Key Points
- Taeke Taekema, a Dutch dragflicking legend, joins the Indian women's hockey team to enhance penalty corner execution.
- The specialised training camp aims to sharpen the skills of dragflickers like Deepika, Lalthantluangi, and Annu.
- Taekema's role extends beyond dragflicking to improve the team's defensive structures.
- India is preparing for the FIH Nations Cup in New Zealand, with a focus on improving penalty-corner conversion rates.
Legendary Dutch dragflicker Taeke Taekema has joined the senior Indian women's hockey team for a specialised training camp focused on dragflicking and penalty-corner execution during the ongoing tour of Australia and New Zealand.
'Legendary Dutch dragflicker Taeke Taekema has joined the Indian Women’s Hockey Team for a specialised camp focused on dragflicking and penalty-corner execution. After a four-match friendly series with Australia in Perth, the team will now travel to Auckland for the FIH Women’s Nations Cup,' Hockey India tweeted on Tuesday.
Focus On Penalty Corner Execution
Taekema has been brought in to further sharpen the skills of dragflickers as the Indian team prepares for the FIH Nations Cup, scheduled to take place in New Zealand from June 15 to 21, under its chief coach Sjoerd Marijne.
Indian dragflickers Deepika, Lalthantluangi and Annu are participating in the focused training sessions, aimed at sharpening India's penalty-corner conversions and overall attacking efficiency ahead of a crucial international season.
Taekema's Hockey Background
Taekema is regarded as one of the finest dragflickers world hockey has seen. A former Netherlands international, Taekema was known for his powerful penalty-corner conversions and represented the Dutch national team in multiple major international tournaments, including the Olympic Games and FIH Hockey World Cups.
He has over 200 appearances and 221 international career goals to his name.
Preparation For Nations Cup
As part of the preparations for the Nations Cup in Auckland, India played a friendly series of four matches against Australia at the Perth Hockey Stadium from May 26 to 30. Both the teams won two matches each, ending the series in a 2-2 draw.
The Indian team will reach New Zealand on June 3, where they will continue their preparations with practice matches ahead of the Nations Cup.
Coach Marijne's Perspective
Marijne said, "We know that penalty corners are crucial in modern hockey and having a coach with Taeke Taekema's experience will be extremely valuable for us. Besides dragflicking, his role will also be much broader in helping improve our defensive structures. He has developed himself wider and we are looking to utilise his full potential with the team."
"I have coached him, so I know him very well and we are on the same page in terms of our approach. His experience as a former top-level player will also be very important for the team. We already have good dragflickers in the squad and also a strong striking option in Navneet Kaur.
"It is crucial for us to get more out of our penalty-corner opportunities and this camp will definitely help us improve in that area," Marijne added.
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