Bengaluru, May 18 : The Indian junior men's hockey team and Indian junior women's hockey team embarked on a tour of Europe on Saturday. During the tour, the Indian junior men's team will compete against Belgium, Bredase Hockey Vereniging Push, and Germany while the Indian Junior women's hockey Team will take on Belgium, Bredase Hockey Vereniging Push, Germany, and Oranje Rood.

Led by captain Jyoti Singh, the Indian junior women's hockey team will begin their campaign against Bredase Hockey Vereniging Push on May 21, followed by a match against Belgium on May 22 in Breda. The team will then travel to Antwerp to take on Belgium on May 24 before returning to Breda to play Germany on May 26. They will travel to Dusseldorf to face Germany again on May 27 followed by a contest with Oranje Rood on May 29 in Breda to end their tour of Europe.

Sharing her excitement before leaving for the tour Jyoti Singh said, 'The team is raring to travel across Europe and face some of the toughest international youth teams along with some prominent European youth hockey clubs. This tour will provide us with invaluable match experience and help us understand our strengths and weaknesses. We have a few players who will be making their debut as well and it is a great opportunity for them to showcase their skills against high calibre opponents.'

The Indian junior men's hockey team, led by captain Rohit, will kick off their tour against Belgium on May 20 in Antwerp. The reverse fixture will be played on May 22 followed by a match against Bredase Hockey Vereniging Push on May 23 in Breda. The team will then face off against Germany on May 28 in Monchengladbach and on May 29 in Breda to bring their tour to a close.

'The tour of Europe will be a great platform to test the results of our training in camp so far. Belgium, Bredase Hockey Vereniging Push, and Germany are formidable opponents and it will be interesting to see how we square up against them. We will aim to maximize this exposure and win all our matches,' said captain Rohit.

/IANS