Rourkela: Their morale hitting rock-bottom after slumping to their fourth defeat, India await another tough contest in the women’s FIH Pro League when they take on the undefeated Netherlands here Wednesday.
It has been rough sailing for the Indian women’s hockey team of late. After failing to qualify for the Paris Olympics, the side has also been faring poorly in the ongoing Pro League matches in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela.
The Savita Punia-led side has played five matches in the Pro League so far, out of which it has lost four and won one.
The home team’s campaign started with three successive defeats against China (1-2), the Netherlands (1-3), Australia (0-3) before it beat the USA 3-1.
The Indians then slumped to their second defeat at the hands of China (1-2) here Monday.
A herculean task awaits India in their next tie as they are up against the formidable Netherlands, who are leading the standings with 27 points following nine wins from as many matches.
The Indians are currently placed fifth in the nine-team league with just three points from five games.
The Indian forwardline has met with partial success so far with the likes of Sangita Kumari, Vandana Katariya, Deepika, Navneet Kaur, and Salima Tete registering their names on the scoresheet.
But it the penalty-corner conversion, which after letting them down in the Olympic Qualifiers in Ranchi, is pulling them down further in the Pro League.
In the five matches so far, the Indians have earned 21 penalty corners but have failed to find the net even once.
Wednesday, the likes Gurjit Kaur, Deepika, and Udita will have to be really accurate and innovative with set-pieces if India hope to upset the Dutch.
The Indians also need to tighten their penalty-corner defence to avoid conceding soft goals.
After Wednesday’s match, the Indian women will play two more games in the Odisha-leg of the Pro League — against Australia February 17 and USA February 18.
After the ongoing matches in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, the team will travel to Antwerp, Belgium for the next leg of the Pro League in May.
PTI