Makar sankranti

Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Hockey: Two days before the Makar Sankranti festival when the sun transitions into Capricorn heralding the northward movement of the planet, the Indian women's hockey steps into the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Hockey Stadium here on Saturday for their opening match against the United States, hoping to clinch a berth in the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris.

Besides clinching a ticket to the Olympics, a good finish in the Women's FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers Tournament 1 in Ranchi will also help them maintain their rankings and will be a morale booster ahead of the FIH Pro League and the Paris Olympic Games.

But the focus at the moment is on booking their ticket to the Olympics and the campaign starts with a potentially banana-skin clash with the United States, a team with which they have an inferior head-to-head record. In 15 matches played between the two teams so far, India have won four and lost nine games while two have ended in a draw.