FIJI One girls’ team faced a tough 1-3 defeat against the Wanderers Emus team from Australia in their opening match of the Junior Hockey Tournament at the National Hockey Centre yesterday.
Despite the loss, Fiji Hockey Development Officer Fatima Mario commended the girls for their fighting spirit and performance in the match.
“It was a great performance from the girls, we all know opening match will be a tough one, even though we didn’t get the result we need, but the girls showed their fighting spirit, during their match,” said Mario.
Mario mentioned that preparations for the tournament have been steady, although they faced challenges due to conflicting schedules with other sports events.
He explained that the clash with an athletics event resulted in the loss of some players, leading them to bring back experienced players to support the under-15 team.
Mario emphasised the importance of developing players and learning from international teams to improve in the future.
“The focus right now is not about the win or the loss, we are trying to develop our players to be better hockey players, such events as this it gives us the Fiji team and our Fiji players the capabilities to study other teams, from overseas.
“And from there we can analyse it with them and be better players in the future.”
Mario expressed gratitude to everyone who contributed to the successful organisation of the tournament and wished all the teams the best in the upcoming matches.
The tournament will continue today and Saturday with the finals set for Sunday. No games will be played on Friday.
