Guyana’s anchor – woman Marzana Fiedtkou says she is free from any pressure heading into the Barbados Hockey Board (BHF) 2018 International Women’s Hockey Series.
The Series which beings on June 28, will run until July 1 and will see the South Americans playing against the host and powerhouse Trinidad and Tobago.
The 23 – year old told Stabroek Sports that the outing would provide insight into both opponents who they will play against in the upcoming Central American and Caribbean (CAC) games at the end of July, in Colombia.
“No pressure going into the series in Barbados… it’s just a friendly, but obviously, we want to win,” Fiedtkou told Stabroek Sports midway the team’s practice session, late Friday evening at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC).
“We want to feel the turf, and see how we play as a team… they are going to be in our group, so it’s going be nice to play against them before we head into CAC games,” she added.
Fiedtkou is one of the central parts of Guyana’s mid-field and has an acute ability to score goals with relative ease.
In 2017, her goal-scoring prowess captured headline where she was in sensational form for Guyana, which copped her the National Sports Commission (NSC) Senior Sportswoman of the year Award (2017).
She carved out seven goals for Guyana in front of her home crowd at the conclusion of Pan American Indoor Hockey tournament. That earned her a spot on the Pan American All-Star team.
Following that, Fiedtkou was one of the critical members of Guyana’s championship triumph in CAC qualifiers in Jamaica, last November. She netted on three occasions during the tournament but failed to score in Guyana’s 1-0 over the host in the final.
Commenting on the team’s preparations, she indicated that the group is currently focused on fitness, ‘stick skill’ and tactical work ahead of both tournaments.
Her personal goals, however, as she indicated are merely to help the team on both ends of the court.
“I just want to help the team to win… I want to help with attack and defence and play to the best of my ability that I know I can play at.”
Aside from her recent achievements on the court, her balancing act of managing her academics and sports is quite remarkable.
In 2016, the GCC Pizza Hut player who made her senior debut for Guyana at just age fifteen, completed a degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts (UMASS) where she also played.