Bhubaneswar, March 25 : Indian J or hockey team left for South Africa on Friday to participate in FIH Women’s J or World Cup, that starts April 1 in Potchefstroom. The marquee 2021 event, had to be postponed to 2022 due to Covid-19, and will be j or women’s first international outing since the Chile tour in 2021, where they remained unbeaten. Ahead of their departure, captain Salima Tete said: “The long wait finally ends. We are absolutely excited to take part in the J or World Cup. “We got a good time to prepare ourselves, we trained with the senior team and I think it will really help us in doing well in the competition. We are really looking forward to this challenge and our aim is to finish on the podium.” Speaking about team’s preparation, she said: “Several players like Akshata Abaso Dhekale, Deepika, Sangita Kumari, Bichu Devi Kharibam and Ishika Chaudhary had recently made their senior team debuts at the FIH Hockey Pro League 2021/22, so we are pretty much in a good frame of mind. “We even got a chance to play practice matches with the senior team, so the training and preparations have been really good. Grouped in Pool D, India will begin their campaign on April 2 against Wales. Their second match will be against Germany on April 3, followed by last pool-stage game against Malaysia on April 5. BAV ING