Queen’s to stage Ireland Olympic warm-ups following 22-year wait
Ireland women’s hockey team are to host four internationals against China in Belfast in April as part of their preparations for the Olympic Games.
The matches will be staged at the recently refurbished Queen’s Sport facilities at the Dub, where international hockey will make a return after more than 20 years.
Ireland’s women played England at the south Belfast venue in the early 1990s and then hosted the European Under-21 Championship series in 1998.
The refurbishment, which cost £1.2m, includes a brand new water-based pitch, covered seating accommodation for 100 spectators, new dugouts, video tower and an electronic scoreboard.
The games against China will go ahead despite the coronavirus, which began there before spreading to other parts of the world in recent weeks.
The Chinese hockey squad relocated to Durban in South Africa shortly after the effects of the killer virus started to kick in and they have been training in the country for the last month or so.
Ireland assistant coach Gareth Grundie explained: “Yes, the matches will definitely take place, and the Chinese players have taken steps to ‘self-quarantine’ by moving to Durban.
“Whether or not the games will all be capped, we are not sure yet, but we are looking forward to them and they will be an important part of our build-up to Tokyo.”
The China games are scheduled for Easter week starting on April 13 and continuing through until April 17, with a rest day on April 15, with times still to be confirmed.
Ireland and China are no strangers to each other having played a series in Dublin last summer before the European Championship trip to Antwerp in August.
Ireland will also play China in Durban next month after their own proposed warm-weather training camp was relocated to South Africa.
Originally, the plan was to set up a camp in Malaysia but that was cancelled due to concerns over the spread of the coronavirus.
Ireland will also play Japan in Durban as the Olympic hosts also moved their hockey players there due to the virus which began in Asia.
Ireland captain Katie Mullan said: “We were disappointed that circumstances forced the trip to Malaysia to be cancelled as the conditions there would have replicated those we will experience in Tokyo.
“But it’s worked out now we are guaranteed competitive practice against Japan and China in Durban, where it will be pretty hot without such extreme humidity as there will be in Tokyo in the summer.”
Nine Ulster players are in the current training panel, with Mullan joined by Shirley McCay, Zoe Wilson, Lizzie Colvin, AyeiTHE sha McFerran, Megan Frazer, the Barr sisters Serena and Bethany, along with newcomer Zara
Malseed, with a squad of around 20 expected to make the cut for Durban.