Olympic champions Netherlands have arrived with their second team but the Indian women’s hockey team is still facing a tough test in the double leg FIH Pro League match starting on Friday.
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None of the players who competed for the Netherlands during their successful Olympic campaign are around this time, but the Indians can’t breathe easily, given the standard of the game in Dutch lands.
The last time the two teams met during the Tokyo Olympics, the Netherlands beat India 5-1.
However, Indian women have done well in their debut season so far. They are fourth in the standings with 12 points from six matches.
On the other hand, Netherlands are at the top of the table with 17 points from six matches.
India captain Savita is aware of the strength of the Netherlands, but since they are playing at home and they have a Dutch coach to guide Janke Schopman, it might help them in some way.
“The Netherlands, of course, the world’s No. 1 team but if we remember our last match against them – the first match at the Olympics, we held them 1-1 until the first half. In the second half we made mistakes.
“Now the team is very excited that we are getting a chance to play Netherlands again and that too at home, so we will give our best,” Savita said in the virtual pre-match press conference.
But Indians can take a sigh of relief from the fact that the Dutch have brought a completely new look and youthful side to both these encounters.
“Our main focus is on our team but we need to respect the opposition and work on their strengths and weaknesses. Club hockey is very strong in the Netherlands, even though their main players are not coming, they have enough resources to build a strong team. New players got a chance and would also like to give their best.
“We also have some key players (Salima Tete, Sharmila Devi and Lalremsiami) who are in the Junior World Cup, which gives opportunities to other players,” Savita said.
The captain said that it would be a mistake to underestimate the Netherlands just because they do not have a single Olympian in their team.
“He cannot be taken easily, if there were senior players, we would have had a lot of fun as we would have got a chance to learn a lot. We can’t underestimate anyone, it all depends on how you play that day.”
Rani Rampal, the captain of India’s team at the Tokyo Olympics, where they finished a historic fourth place, is available for selection and it bodes well for the team.
But Savita said the coach will decide whether Rani will play in the next two matches as it is an important tournament this year.
“As a senior player myself, I know how happy it is when a senior player returns. We were just waiting to see when Rani would complete her rehab and return to the team.
“But we are not in a mood to put too much pressure on him as there are more important tournaments like the World Cup and Asian Games to be held in July. Whether or not Rani will play in these two matches will be decided after discussion between her and the coach.
The Indian team would like to carry on the good work they did in their last match against World No. 5 Germany, where they lost the first game in a shoot-out, before winning the next game, then in a shoot-out.
He said, ‘We have played 6 matches so far and match by match the team has progressed. The first shoot-out against Germany didn’t go well so I told the girls to focus on what they do in training.”
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