Hockeyroos Head Coach Paul Gaudoin has named his 16-players for the official Tokyo Olympics Test Event to be held in the Japanese capital from 17-21 August 2019.
VIS athletes Kristina Bates, Amy Lawton, Rachael Lynch and Sophie Taylor have been selected as a part of the squad.
The event is seen as valuable preparation for the upcoming Oceania Cup in Rockhampton, a best of three match series against New Zealand which doubles as the qualifiers for next year’s Olympics.
Highly regarded with huge potential, Lawton returns to the Hockeyroos fold after making her debut and solitary international appearance in a 2019 FIH Pro League match against New Zealand in April.
“We’ve been aware of Amy for quite some time,” said Gaudoin.
“She performed really well in her one match with the Hockeyroos and was one of the standouts at the National U21 Championships recently so we’ve seen good progression from her and she deserves her opportunity.”
Gaudoin is buoyed by the current depth of talent of women’s hockey in Australia;
“By picking someone as young as Amy (Lawton) and an older more experienced player like Kate (Jenner) we’re showing our hand that no one is out of the race and that’s a good thing,” Gaudoin said.
Lawton was also recently named the MVP of the U21 National Tournament.
For the Olympic Test Event, the world number two ranked Hockeyroos will fly out for Tokyo on 13 August to face China (ranked 11), India (ranked 10) and hosts Japan (ranked 14).
The Test Event, which is part of the READY STEADY TOKYO series and is a dress rehearsal to ensure a successful operation during the Olympic Games, is organised by the Tokyo Organising Committee in conjunction with FIH.
