TEN days.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
That’s all the time Orange product Edwina Bone and her Hockeyroos have left to put the final touches on their preparation for the 2016 Olympics before the Games kick off in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 6.
After the gruelling, months-long selection process, which included the Hawke’s Bay Cup in New Zealand and Champions Trophy in England, Bone and the Hockeyroos landed in Chile on Monday (AEST) morning ahead of their final training camp and practice matches.
The 16-strong playing squad will post up in Chile for all of this week and are expected to take on China in a couple of warm-up games before making the 3,500 kilometre flight across to Rio next Monday.
The Hockeyroos head into the first South American Games ranked No.3 in the world and will face off against No.2 ranked Argentina, top 10 ranked sides Great Britain, USA and Japan and 13th seed India in pool B before the all-or-nothing quarter-finals.
Under the competition’s new format, the top four from each of the two pools will progress to the final eight, before the winners move forward toward the gold medal game on August 18.
Bone, champing at the bit leading into the Games, is expected to play a huge role in Australia’s defensive half and thanked all those who have contacted her after her selection.
“A big thank you to everyone for the messages of good luck and support over the past couple of weeks,” Bone said via Facebook.
“Things are about to get very real.”