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Hello and welcome to our live coverage of India Women vs England Women Hockey Pool A match from Birmingham. The Indian women’s hockey team started the campaign on a flying note with back-to-back wins in their first two matches. They beat Ghana in their opening match 5-0 and followed it up with a 3-1 hard-fought win over Wales.
Savita and Co. will face a tough challenge against hosts England on Tuesday. It will be an uphill task for the women’s team to continue their winning momentum. England are currently at the top of Pool A points table with a better goal difference and India will look to move up in the table and strengthen their position in the group.
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The Indians would take a lot of heart from the fact that they held England to a 1-1 draw in the recently-held World Cup, jointly hosted by Spain and Netherlands.
“England are a good team and they have the home advantage as well in Birmingham. It will be a challenging match for us, but we have also been in good form after our first two wins,” skipper Savita said.
“We have played England a few times in the recent past, so both teams know each other quite well. They have won a couple of big matches against us as well, so they’re a strong team, but we have done our homework and it will be all about getting the basics right on the day.
“It is a crucial game in the competition and we are focused on our targets,” she added.
Even though Gurjit scored from a few penalty corners in the competition, the conversion rate remains a big concern for India’s chief coach Janneke Schopman.
The forward line too needs to put its best forward if India desire to upstage England. Vandana Katariya has been the star performer for India in the strike force, scoring two poaching goals against Wales but she needs more support from the likes of Lalremsiami and Sharmila Devi.
The team also needs to work on its link-up play between the midfield and forwardline to create more chances from open play.
A win on Tuesday will guarantee India a place in the semifinals of the competition. The Indians will round off their pool engagements against Canada on Wednesday.
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