Women's Hockey World Cup: India eye China scalp in second pool game

04.07.2022 - 12:57 timesofindia.indiatimes.com

The Indians produced a superlative defensive performance, spearheaded by skipper and goalkeeper Savita Punia, in the drawn game against England in their opening Pool B match on Sunday.

The likes of vice-captain Deep Grace Ekka, Nikki Pradhan, Gurjit Kaur and Udita dished out an excellent performance, denying England a single penalty corner in the entire 60 minutes.

Their only blemish was the ninth minute goal they conceded when Isabella Petter neatly deflected in a pass from outside the 'D'.

Barring that, it was a near perfect effort from the Indian backline against England, who fielded almost the same set of players from the Great Britain side that featured in Tokyo Olympics.

hockey FIH cup Janneke Schopman Britain China Tokyo New Zealand India

Read more on the timesofindia.indiatimes.com

A three-member FIH delegation, led by newly-appointed acting president Seif Ahmed, is expected to visit India on August 15 for an emergency meeting to assess progress made with regards to adoption of a new Constitution, which is a must to salvage the World Cup, the country is scheduled to host in 2023. FIH CEO Thierry Weil and Executive Board member Tayyab Ikram, who is also the CEO of Asian Hockey Federation, will be part of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) delegation.

PM Modi Interacts With CWG-Bound Athletes, Wishes Them Luck

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday highlighted the struggle, grit and determination of the Commonwealth Games-bound athletes in a light-hearted interaction as he urged them to forget expectations and focus only on giving their best at the Birmingham multi-sport event. Among others, PM Modi spoke to 3000m steeplechaser Avinash Sable, weightlifter Achinta Sheuli, women's hockey player Salima Tete, cyclist David Beckham and para shot putter Sharmila during a virtual interactive session.

The girls want to work hard and go again: Janneke Schopman

Much has changed in the last year. Sjoerd Marijne made way for Janneke Schopman as the head coach. Wayne Lombard quit as the scientific advisor. The face of the team and skipper Rani Rampal has been sidelined - battling injuries - which has seen goalkeeper Savita Punia assume leadership role. In their first major outing after the Tokyo Games - the World Cup - the team finished a disappointing ninth recently. They were let down by lack of on-field conversion of opportunities and poor success rate in penalty corners. In the six matches they played, India earned 31 penalty corners and converted a mere three.

FIH Women's World Cup: Wasteful India lose 3-4 to New Zealand, will play in crossover for quarter-final berth

New Zealand topped the pool with seven points ahead of England (4), while India and China finished on two points apiece but progressed on account of a better goal difference. According to the tournament format, the top four sides from four pools will directly qualify for the quarterfinals, while the second and third placed teams will feature in the crossovers. The winner of the crossover matches will grab the remaining four quarterfinal spots. It should have been game, set and match for India in the regulation 60 minutes if not for an uncountable missed chances, including as many as 15 penalty corners, out of which they converted just one.

Hockey Women's World Cup: India Lose To New Zealand, Will Play In Crossovers

A wasteful India lost 3-4 to New Zealand in their final Pool B match but still qualified for the crossovers of the FIH Women's World Cup as the third best team from their group in Amstelveen on Thursday. New Zealand topped the pool with seven points ahead of England (4), while India and China finished on two points apiece but progressed on account of a better goal difference. According to the tournament format, the top four sides from four pools will directly qualify for the quarterfinals, while the second and third placed teams will feature in the crossovers.

India vs New Zealand, Women's Hockey World Cup: When And Where To Watch Live Telecast, Live Streaming

India will take on table-toppers New Zealand in their final pool match of the ongoing FIH Hockey Women's World Cup on Thursday in Amstelveen, Netherlands. So far, India have drawn both of their games 1-1 against England and China, respectively. Vandana Katariya has scored both goals for India, who are currently third in the points table, behind China, who are second due to more goals scored. New Zealand defeated England 3-1 and are will start the game as favourites against India.