Tears at the end of the Tokyo Olympics marked a historic achievement. Fourth place in the final could mean losing the Whisker medal, but the Indian women’s hockey team has never been at the top of the sport. It was a welcome opportunity to make their debut in the Pro League, where India finished third ahead of teams like Belgium, Spain, Germany and England – winning six of their 14 matches.
Remembering an important team on the team’s wheel during the Pro League, she was the inspirational captain queen. She was kept out for 10 months due to a hamstring injury before finally returning to the European tour. But coach JNK Shopman paid The queen Only one pro league game on the tour, his 250th cap, but the central striker looked as good as ever and never got hurt.
India was established before the World Cup in Spain and the Netherlands, followed by the Commonwealth Games in England. Queen – The squad was announced with all but one name.
Why is there no queen in the World Cup squad?
The disappearance of Rani’s name from the World Cup squad came as a surprise to many, but coach Shopman, who played an interesting game against Rani in the 2010 World Cup, went on record and said that Rani has not yet fully recovered from her injury.
(Rani with coach Janneke Shopman – Photo: Hockey India)
The India captain and goalkeeper said, “It would be better to ask the coach about the selection. Savita Punia While conversing with Timesofindia.com On July 3, three days before India started their World Cup campaign against England.
“I think it would be nice if we could talk about the (selected) players who are there. Whatever combination or team we have, we are happy with it… Rani is definitely a great player for India and a part of it. The team has been around a long time. , But I will comment on it again (would not be appropriate).
With the Queen out of the squad for the Commonwealth Games starting in Birmingham on July 28, Savita has avoided adding further to the selection decision.
The captain replied, “The decision is made by the coach. There are some injuries that take time to heal, but if the young players have joined the team, they are doing their job well. On matters relating to team selection.
Semi-finals
India, ranked eighth in the world, is currently in Group B along with England (fourth), New Zealand (ninth) and China (13th).
To reach the World Cup semi-finals, India will have to face two of the top 10 teams in the FIH rankings and rival China in the league stage.
(Savita Punia – Photo: Avaswita Hockey Twitter)
In the 2018 World Cup in England, India lost in a shootout (3-1) against Ireland after a 60-minute regulation period ended 0-0.
But after her historic performance in the Olympics and the opportunity to play in the top team in the Pro League before the World Cup, Savita feels the situation is different this time.
“If you look at the last World Cup, we lost in the semifinals in the shootout, but then we turned our attention to the Asian Games (won silver) and then we kept improving until the Tokyo Olympics (fourth place). Pro League, ”said Savita, who took over as India’s captain after Rani’s injury. TimesofIndia.com.
“So I think our preparations are going in the right direction. Our performance in the World Cup is very important. But we are playing only one match at a time. Our first match is against England (on July 3), so right now we’re just focusing on that.
Dutch influence
It’s been a year since the showman took over as head coach from Scord Marijane after the Tokyo Olympics. But she has been a part of the setup for two years, working as a cannabis assistant before taking her place.
Savita believes this has helped, as both Marijane and Shopman come from Dutch backgrounds, so the mentality and philosophy of coaching is the same.
“Every coach has his own style and there is always a difference. But one good thing is that Talwar and Shopman are both Dutch and another good thing is that she (Shopman) was with us a year ago. He took over from Sjord, “said Savita.
“Even then (when Shopman was assisting Marriage) we were focused on playing offensive hockey and still our focus is on defense. We are happy with the way we are training. ” The 31-year-old from Haryana, who is part of the 2014 (bronze) and 2018 (silver) Asian Games teams, said. TimesofIndia.com,
This time the goal is in the World Cup
As in previous editions of the World Cup, India’s primary goal is to enter the top four; And if they get at least one good day out there, they’ll be on stage.
It’s easier said than done, of course, but Savita also said that this time the Indian team is taking a goal in the tournament that she can’t share.
“There is definitely a goal. We have a team goal and we will do our best to achieve it. We can’t share that with you at the moment because we lost the medal because we came so close to the medal. Olympics. The coaches were happy with this performance, but we didn’t have a medal to show. We want to fill that void in the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games, ”said Savita, who has played 225 senior-team matches and will be touring. 32 during the World Cup.
“But then, performance is more important to us. I am often asked if we can accomplish that on stage. Of course, (we can). We all work hard to achieve this. ”
FIH Women’s World Cup Dates: July 1 to 17
World Cup Hosts: The Netherlands and Spain
World Cup Pool:
Pool A: Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, Chile
Group B: India, England, New Zealand, China
Group C: Argentina, Spain, Korea, Canada
D Pool: Australia, Belgium, Japan, South Africa
India Pool Fixtures and Times (IST):
July 3: India v England, 8 p.m.
July 4: India v China, 8 p.m.
July 7: India v New Zealand, 11 p.m.
Indian Federation:
Goalkeepers: Savita Punia (A), Bichu Devi
Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka (VC), Gurjit Kaur, Nikki Pradhan, Udita
Midfielders: Nisha, Sushila Chanu, Monica, Neha, Jyoti, Navjyot Kaur, Sonica, Salima Tete
Forwards: Vandana Kataria, Lalremsiami, Navneet Kaur, Sharmila Devi
Standby: Akshata Abso Dhakale, Sangeeta Kumari
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