Hyderabad, March 5 : The Austrian womenâ??s hockey team touched down in Hyderabad ahead of the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 Qualifiers Hyderabad, Telangana. The tournament will witness eight nations compete for three crucial qualification spots for the marquee event in Belgium and the Netherlands in August later this year.

Austria have a rich history at the FIH Hockey Womenâ??s World Cup, having appeared in three of the first four editions of the competition. However, they havenâ??t qualified for the premier event since 1981.

Led by Johanna Czech, Austria will compete against England, Italy and Korea in Pool A, as they look to script history and secure a qualification spot for the first time in 45 years.

Looking forward to the competition, the Captain stated, â?? This is the first time in India for all of us. So, we are excited and we want to play really good hockey. Our preparation ahead of the tournament was short - we had only one training session - but weâ??re going to give our best. Weâ??ve got some training sessions here before our games, and we are going to leave everything on the pitch.â??

Earlier, on Thursday The Italy womenâ??s national hockey team arrived in Hyderabad.

Scheduled from March 8 to 14, eight nations will compete for three crucial berths for the much-anticipated tournament in Belgium and the Netherlands later this year in August.

Italy have been placed in Pool A, where they will face England, Korea and Austria. The European side has previously qualified for the FIH Hockey World Cup twice, first in 1976 and most recently in 2018, where they recorded their best-ever finish of ninth place.

Italy will open their campaign with a clash against England on 8th March, followed by matches against Austria and Korea on 9th and 11th March respectively.

/IANS