Hyderabad, March 5 (UNI) The Austrian women’s hockey team arrived in Hyderabad on Thursday, ahead of the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup 2026 Qualifiers, where eight nations will compete for three coveted spots in the upcoming global tournament scheduled to be held in Belgium and the Netherlands in August this year.
Austria will be looking to make a long-awaited return to the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup, having last qualified for the tournament in 1981. The side has a notable history in the competition, having featured in three of the first four editions of the global event.
Led by captain Johanna Czech, Austria have been placed in Pool A of the qualifiers alongside England, Italy and Korea. The team will be aiming to secure one of the three qualification spots on offer and end a 45-year wait to reappear at the prestigious tournament.
Speaking about the team’s preparations and excitement ahead of the event, Czech said this will be the first visit to India for all the players.
“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 we’re going to give our best. We’ve got some training sessions here before our games, and we’re going to leave everything on the pitch,” she said.
The qualifiers will serve as a crucial pathway to the next edition of the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup 2026, which will be jointly hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands later this year.
The matches of the qualifiers will be streamed live on Star Sports Khel and the JioHotstar platform.
