FIH Pro League: Indian women’s hockey team looks to address grey areas against USA ahead of World Cup

With the World Cup just 10 days away, the Indian women’s hockey team will be looking to use their last FIH Pro League double-header match against the US, starting here on Tuesday, to address their weak areas ahead of the marquee event. . – Hosted by Netherlands and Spain. Indian women made remarkable performances in their first FIH Pro League season, finishing third in the standings with 24 points from 14 matches, behind the Netherlands (32 points from 14 matches) and Argentina, who have already won the title with 42 points. has achieved. 16 games.

Belgium are close to India with 22 points from 14 matches and the Savita Punia-led Indian team will be looking to sign on to a credible third-place finish with a win over the Americans.

The second match of the double header will be played on Wednesday.

In their last Pro League bout, India posted a 2-1 shoot-out win (2-2 in regulation time) and a narrow 2-3 defeat to Olympic silver medalist Argentina, here last weekend.

The two matches against the United States of America will provide a perfect platform for the Indians to gauge their strength ahead of the World Cup starting July 1.

“For us, the most important thing is that we can execute our plans and do better over the weekend against Argentina. We could have done better, but I think this match is the best for us ahead of the world. Confidence booster. Cup,” said India captain Savita.

“There is still room for us to improve and we look forward to plugging gaps in the matches against USA. We have gained good momentum and hope to finish our first Pro League campaign with good results,” he added. will do.”

Along with the World Cup, Savita said that the team is shaping up really well for the quadrennial tournament.

“We are delighted that we have got a good chance to play in Europe a few days before the World Cup, so the preparation for the big event has been really great. The team is preparing really well for the World Cup.”

India’s vice-captain Deep Grace Ekka said that Team USA is confident of thrashing them, who are at the bottom of the FIH Pro League standings with just five points from 12 matches.

“The matches against Argentina were really tough, but we are glad we stick to the plans and did really well against a strong team. We look forward to the last set of matches of our memorable Pro League campaign. United Positive result against the States,” she said.

In the World Cup, the Indian women’s hockey team is placed in Pool B along with England, China and New Zealand. India will start their campaign against England in Amstelveen, Netherlands on 3 July.

Originally published at Pen 18