Shileima chanu khaidem

India Junior Women: India Junior Women's Hockey Team captain Shileima Chanu Khaidem believes the side has returned from its seven-match tour of the United Kingdom better equipped for the upcoming Women's Junior Asia Cup in China after testing itself against senior and age-group international opposition across Scotland and England.

The tour, which concluded with three wins, three defeats and one shootout loss, gave the young Indian squad valuable competitive exposure against Scotland Senior Women, USA U-21, England U-21 and Belgium U-21.

India's campaign began with two hard-fought defeats against Scotland's senior side, losing 3-2 in the opening fixture before going down 3-1 in the second encounter. Rather than allowing those setbacks to derail the tour, the visitors responded in emphatic fashion, producing a commanding 6-0 victory over the USA U-21.