The India 'A' women's hockey team will look to gain much needed exposure when it takes on France 'A' in the opening match of four-game series here Friday.
The Indian team, led by skipper Salima Tete, comprises of players from the Indian Development Women's Core Group and will look to put their skills to test against a France side who have a mixture of youth and experience in their 21-member squad.
"We are all very excited to be playing at home in Lucknow and Gorakhpur against a French team who will give us tough competition in the four Matches," said India 'A' women's hockey team coach Baljeet Singh.
"These matches will help us in developing these players to play together as a unit, and to understand the different strategies that we want to implement.
"The fact that we are playing in-front of home support makes it even more exciting for the girls as it will be a proud moment for them."
Singh said playing such matches will help in the development of the players.
"When it comes to the junior teams, we have limited competitions throughout the year so I welcome the move from Hockey India and the French Hockey Federation to play bilateral Matches," said the Indian coach.
"Such initiatives will help us in implementing different tactics and combinations that we practice during Camps, and gives us the opportunity to develop these players for bigger challenges."
After the opening match, the two teams will travel to Gorakhpur for the second match on February 10. They will then return to Lucknow to play the third and fourth matches on February 12 and February 13 respectively.
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