Known as the Cherry Blossoms, the Japanese women's hockey team are the unknown package of the Rabobank Hockey World Cup. At the 2012 Olympics, the team started slowly, losing their opening matches, but then a draw with Belgium was followed by a surprise victory over China. They then beat South Africa in the classification matches to finish in ninth position, reflecting their current world ranking.
Head coach Yoo Seung Jin knows the team will need to start this tournament firing on all cylinders as their first match is against the home side. This baptism of fire will be followed two days later by an encounter with the Hockeroos. Also in the group are Korea, New Zealand and Belgium.
While the squad is unnamed as yet, it is likely to be quite a young squad, with just five survivors from the Olympics of 2012. Miyuki Nakagawa, Keiko Manabe and Shiho Otsuka are likely to be among the influential players starring for the Cherry Blossoms in The Hague.
After finishing 2013 as the second ranked team from Asia, behind Korea, Japan, who are ranked 9 in the world by the FIH, will be hoping that they can finish higher than the 11th place they achieved at the 2011 Hockey World Cup.
Certainly, the past decade has seen the team make steady improvements on the world stage. Their highest finish to date was fifth in the 2006 World Cup, but a gold medal in the Champions Challenge 1 in 2011 and fifth place in the Champions Trophy in 2012 indicates that there are serious ambitions for hockey in the Far East.
