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Team captains at the launch of the ESB Electric Ireland FIH Champions Challenge in UCD were Alex Speers (Ireland), Azerbaijan's Khatira Aliyeva, Lauren Crandall of the USA and India's Saba Anjum. INPHO/Lorraine O'Sullivan
Hockey

Dublin hosts international women's hockey tournament

The event also includes USA, Azerbaijan, India, Spain, Japan, South Africa and Scotland.

THE IRISH WOMEN’S hockey team will compete against seven other nations in a major international tournament beginning at UCD on Saturday.

The International Hockey Federation Champions Challenge I event also includes USA, Azerbaijan, India, Spain, Japan, South Africa and Scotland.

The week-long tournament, sponsored by ESB Electric Ireland, is for teams ranked 9th to 16th in the world.

In the match schedule, Ireland’s women, currently ranked 15th, will face Spain, India and Azerbaijan ranked 10, 11 and 14threspectively in pool B. Pool A will see Japan, USA, South Africa and Scotland fighting it out for the best seeded position in the classification stages.

National women’s coach, Gene Muller said:

Ireland comes into this tournament on the backdrop of a period of hard training so we will want to play well to do our preparations justice. Pool A will see Japan, USA, South Africa and Scotland fighting it out for the best seeded position in the classification stages. All the teams here are very close in world rankings so there will be no opportunities for us to take anyone lightly. All teams want to get momentum from the start and therefore our opening match versus India is very important.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.hockey.ie or on the day of the event at the ticket office located beside the National Hockey Stadium, UCD.