Indian women’s hockey team captain Savita Punia and vice-captain Deep Grace Ekka are confident that the girls will learn from their defeat to Belgium and come back strong in the next four matches ahead of the upcoming match. World cup.
The next challenge for the team will be a double-header against Argentina in Rotterdam, Netherlands, followed by two matches against the United States at the same venue.
The Indian women’s hockey team was full of confidence a few days back for the FIH Pro League matches and then the Women’s World Cup.
But 1-2 and 0-5 defeats to Belgium in consecutive matches of the Pro League have proved to be disappointing for the players and fans. However, skipper Savita was confident that the girls would learn from their mistakes and show strong improvement in the upcoming matches.
Apart from the Pro League, the Indian women’s team’s major engagements this season include the FIH Women’s World Cup in Spain and the Netherlands next month and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham starting July 28.
Both Savita and Deep Grace Ekka believe that the two matches against Tokyo Olympic silver medalists Argentina (June 18 and 19) and the United States (June 21 and 22) will put the team in the right shape and midset for the World Cup. will help bring it in. Held from 1-17 July.
We could not perform as expected against Belgium. But both the matches were good for the team as we were able to test the players and enable them to play in different positions.
Argentina have already won the FIH Pro League title with 38 points and against the result of two matches. India The title will have no effect. The Netherlands, the world and Olympic champions, are second with 32 points while India are third with 22 points.
However, India will have some unfinished business to settle with Argentina after losing in the semi-finals of the Tokyo Olympic Games last year.
Though India has come a long way in terms of results and rankings ahead of the Olympics, Argentina are strong and it will be a tough challenge for Savita and her team.
Speaking ahead of their matches against Argentina, Indian women’s hockey team captain Savita said that she had two training sessions after the matches against Belgium and tried to rectify the problems she faced against Belgium.
“Our preparations are going well. We had two great training sessions and everyone is focused on improving their game. We are looking forward to our matches against Argentina and want to perform as a team and individually. We are quite confident ahead of the matches as we played a good game against Argentina in the semi-finals of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics,” Savita said during a pre-match online interaction on Thursday.
The goalkeeper also spoke about the team’s specific training at penalty corners, “We are working on improving our execution with regards to penalty corners. During our practice sessions, the players trained with the best mindset and worked on earning penalty corners and hitting goals. It is expected that the players will improve in executing penalty corners in the coming matches as well.
Indian women’s hockey team vice-captain Deep Grace Ekka said that the team is fully prepared for their matches against Argentina.
“We learned a lot about our game during the practice sessions after our matches against Belgium. We have rectified the mistakes we made in our previous matches and we are all set for our next challenge.
Talking about the advice given to young players ahead of the World Cup and Commonwealth Games, defender Deep Grace Ekka said, “When I first joined the team, my seniors told me that during practice I To repeat what he was doing. So I also say the same thing to the young players of my team. And the simpler we keep things, the better it will be for us. Before receiving the ball, we need to be aware of where our team members stand so that we can pass the ball quickly.”
Savita admitted that the team has played more matches than before the Tokyo Olympics to prepare for the World Cup and a fourth-place finish at the Olympics will be marked by opponents as well. However, he added that the players have improved a lot over the years and is confident that they have gained enough experience to face top teams.
While the World Cup and Commonwealth Games are the main goals for the team, the immediate concern is to do well in the remaining matches of the Pro League. This will give the girls the confidence to do well in the two big events.
read all breaking news , today’s fresh news watch top videos And live TV Here.