After nearly a year since they last played an international match, the Indian women’s hockey team will travel to Argentina for their first tour of the Olympic year 2021.

The team is scheduled to leave on Jan. 3 from the national capital and will be competing in eight matches against the host nation, starting from Jan. 17.

Hockey India, in a statement, said that the total core group of 25 players and seven support staff will be travelling for the Tour of Argentina.

This will be the first time the Indian hockey team preparing for the Olympic Games has received Government sanction to travel for an international assignment after the Coronavirus pandemic hit and halted all national and international competitions around the world abruptly.

The Indian women’s team last participated in an international tour in January 2020 when they travelled to New Zealand for a five-match series. They played both the New Zealand and Great Britain women in the 5-match series and were victorious in 3 of the 5 matches that they played.

Hockey India said over the past months, it has been meticulously planning, in coordination with a number of countries to ensure international competitions for the Indian teams as part of their preparations for Tokyo Olympic Games, which were postponed from July 2020 to July 2021.