A confident Indian women’s hockey team would want to avoid getting comfortable when it plays lower-ranked Ireland in the FIH Nations Cup semifinal on Friday in Valencia. The team is currently on a roll with three straight victories.
With victories over Chile (3-1), Japan (2-1), and South Africa (2-0) to hold the pool B lead, Savita Punia’s squad is currently undefeated in the competition.
Even yet, the Janneke Schopman-led club hasn’t exactly impressed in terms of converting penalty corners, which continues to be its major worry. India, ranked eighth in the world, will start as the favorite against Ireland, ranked thirteenth, but defeating the Europeans, who came in second in pool A, won’t be that simple.
With players like Salima Tete, Sonika, Navneet Kaur, Navjot Kaur, Vandana Katariya, and youthful Beauty Dungdung living up to expectations, the Indians have been impressive in the middle and forward line. The defense, though, has occasionally been cagey, with Deep Grace Ekka and Gurjit Kaur appearing out of sorts when under pressure.
India’s seasoned goalkeeper Savita saved the team on multiple occasions thanks to her excellent anticipation and reflexes, which helped to maintain the winning streak. To maintain their winning streak and guarantee a spot in the championship game on Friday, the Indians will need to play at their peak.
India’s enduring difficulty with the conversion from penalty corners has been on full display thus far in the competition. In their sixth and final pool game against Japan, India earned up to nine penalty corners but didn’t convert even one.
All five of India’s goals in the first two pool games came from field attempts, but against South Africa, vice-captain Deep Grace and Gurjit both scored from penalty corners, with their individual goals coming in the very last seconds of the first and third quarters.
For head coach Schopman, this should be a pleasant respite, although she might be concerned about her forward line’s lack of initiative. Spain’s opponents in the other semifinal are Japan and Spain.
The eight-team competition is significant for India since it implements a promotion-relegation system, where the winners will advance to the 2023–24 FIH Hockey Women’s Pro League, a crucial competition before the Asian Games and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
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