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Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
At Asia Cup, India looks to start the rebuild
Mumbai: Training sessions for the Indian women's hockey team of late have been highlighted by a few specific drills for different sets of players. Indian women's hockey team will compete at the Asia Cup in September. (HT Photo) 'The strikers are working separately and practicing their finishing. The defenders are working on their communication to be more rigid in defence,' said vice-captain Navneet Kaur. On any other occasion, this may seem natural. But as the Indian team dissected and analysed the disastrous 2024-25 FIH Pro League season, which saw them get relegated after finishing last, it found that these were the two main shortcomings. In their 16 matches, the Indians won two games, drew three and lost 11. In that run, they scored only 22 goals, made the least number of circle penetrations (210) among the nine teams, and conceded 52 penalty corners. These are alarming numbers. But they are statistics indicative of a team going through a period of transition. They do not, however, have much time to settle in, as the team gets set to compete at the Asia Cup in September, where a spot at the 2026 World Cup is on offer. Since their impressive, and unexpected, run to a fourth-place finish at the delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, the Indians had consistently punched above their weight. And the results followed, they finished third in the 2021-22 Pro League season and won the 2022 FIH Nations Cup. 'That was a phase when we were winning and there was a high level of confidence in the team,' Kaur said. 'Now there have been changes in the team and we lost a few matches. We have to start rebuilding that confidence as well.' A number of important senior players like, but not limited to, Rani Rampal, Vandana Katariya, Deep Grace Ekka, and Gurjit Kaur, are no longer in the squad. And the new crop of players that have come in that are yet to find their feet. 'The seniors knew what to do but the new players don't know much about how to play in pressure situations and how to handle the pressure,' said Salima Tete, the team captain. Tete is among eight players, from the 39 probables, to have earned over a hundred caps for the national team. At 23-years-old, she is the youngest of those experienced players. While the team has been working on ironing out the flaws ahead of the trip to Hangzhou, China for the Asia Cup, Tete asserted that a stronger mentality is required. 'If you are mentally weak, the other teams have already beaten you,' she said. 'Whatever has happened has happened. I want to now focus on myself, my strengths. If I work on myself, the others will also follow. I can keep saying that 'we should win,' but it should also come from the other players. Each one of us has to question what we did wrong and work to get back to the level we once were.' Also key to rising back up the ladder is getting the new generation of players to gel with each other. 'For the Tokyo Olympics, the players had been training together for a few years, but only a few are still there from that batch,' Kaur added. 'It has been difficult because there are a lot of new players. It is difficult to motivate them (because of the bad results). We need them to perform well in the next matches. They are understanding that they should learn from the previous matches and work on it for the next one.' There is less than a month to go for the next match, as India begins its Asia Cup campaign on September 5 against Thailand. And already the mood in the camp is much different than what it was on June 23, after their 2-3 defeat against China in their last Pro League match of the season. 'We went back to our rooms and everyone had sad looks on their faces. We were questioning, why are we conceding, why are we not scoring…' Tete recalled. 'But now we have to take those learnings and forget everything else because the next goal is the Asia Cup. Right now the mood is back up because we are looking at the next target. That's the only thing on our mind.' The team had taken a few steps back, even failing to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. But now they are hoping to take a few meaningful strides in the right direction.
India Gazette
16-06-2025
- Sport
- India Gazette
Indian women's hockey team ready to give it all against mighty Argentina
London [UK], June 16 (ANI): After a narrow defeat against Australia, the Indian women's hockey team is set to give their all against World No. 2 Argentina in their upcoming FIH Pro League 2024-25 (Women) matches in London on June 17 and 18. Currently ranked 7th with 9 points, India is expecting a tough battle against Argentina, placed 2nd on the FIH Pro League (Women) points table. Regarding the upcoming matches, Indian women's hockey team captain Salima Tete said, as quoted from Hockey India, 'Argentina is ranked No. 2 in the world and has won seven of their 12 FIH Pro League matches so far. Coming into this leg of the league, we knew they would be one of the toughest teams to beat. But we won't go down without a fight -- we'll give it our all in both matches. The team has been training well to take them on and has been working on various strategies to win crucial points against them.' Vice captain Navneet Kaur agreed, adding, 'As you saw, the team gave Australia a tough fight in the last two matches, and we're planning to do the same against Argentina. We'll give it our all and aim to come out victorious. A win against Argentina will not only help us gain points but will also give the team a big morale boost as we head to Antwerp and then Berlin for our matches against Belgium and China.' The Indian women's hockey team will play their first match against Argentina on June 17, followed by the second match on June 18. Both matches will take place at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in London. During India's last outing in the FIH Hockey Pro League, Vaishnavi Vitthal Phalke (3') scored the only goal for India, while Amy Lawton (37') and Lexie Pickering (60') were the goalscorers for Australia. India took an early lead in the proceedings, but Australia made a comeback with a goal in the third and final minute of the fourth quarter to seal the victory. (ANI)
United News of India
16-06-2025
- Sport
- United News of India
Indian Women's Hockey team ready to give their all against mighty Argentina
London, June 16 (UNI) After a narrow defeat against Australia, the Indian Women's Hockey Team is set to give their all against World No. 2 Argentina in their upcoming FIH Pro League 2024-25 (Women) matches in London on June 17 and 18. Currently ranked 7th with 9 points, India is expecting a tough battle against Argentina, who are placed 2nd on the FIH Pro League (Women) points table. Speaking about the upcoming matches, Indian Women's Hockey Team Captain Salima Tete said, "Argentina is ranked No. 2 in the world and has won 7 of their 12 FIH Pro League matches so far. Coming into this leg of the league, we knew they would be one of the toughest teams to beat. But we won't go down without a fight — we'll give it our all in both matches. The team has been training well to take them on and has been working on various strategies to win crucial points against them." Vice Captain Navneet Kaur agreed, adding, "As you saw, the team gave Australia a tough fight in the last two matches, and we're planning to do the same against Argentina. We'll give it our all and aim to come out victorious. A win against Argentina will not only help us gain points but will also give the team a big morale boost as we head to Antwerp and then Berlin for our matches against Belgium and China." The Indian Women's Hockey Team will play their first match against Argentina on June 17, followed by the second match on June 18. Both matches will take place at Lee Valley Hockey & Tennis Centre in London. All FIH Pro League 2024-25 (Men and Women) matches will be streamed live on JioCinema and broadcast on Star Sports Select. UNI BM
The Hindu
28-05-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Indian women's hockey team leaves for European Leg of FIH Pro League
Eyeing a strong outing in the European leg of the FIH Pro League, the Indian women's hockey team departed for Amsterdam from Bengaluru on Wednesday (May 28, 2025) morning. The Indian team will train in Amsterdam until June 8 before heading to London for their first four matches against Australia and Argentina. India will take on the Australian women's team on June 14 and 15, followed by matches against Argentina on June 17 and 18. Subsequently, India will travel to Antwerp on June 19 for their next two matches against Belgium, scheduled for June 21 and 22. They will conclude the European leg with two matches against China on June 28 and 29 in Berlin. "This is a very crucial leg of the FIH Pro League for us, as we will be facing four very strong teams. We've already played a Test match against Australia earlier this year, and we'll further fine-tune our strategy in Amsterdam before our matches against the Hockeyroos and others," India captain Salima Tete said in a Hockey India release. Vice-captain Navneet Kaur echoed Salima's thoughts. "We know we have some tough games ahead, but the team is confident after our performance in the Bhubaneswar leg of the Pro League. We're determined to go all out and collect valuable points in Europe." India will look to build on their momentum in the India leg of Pro League in February this year. India held world No. 1 Netherlands to a 2-2 draw and earned a bonus point in the shootout in Bhubaneswar. Earlier this month, the team also tested new combinations in Perth, Australia, during five friendly matches against Australia A and the Hockeyroos.
India Gazette
28-05-2025
- Sport
- India Gazette
Indian women's hockey team leaves for European leg of FIH Pro League 2024-25
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], May 28 (ANI): The Indian women's hockey team departed from Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport for Amsterdam on May 28 morning, kicking off the European leg of the FIH Pro League 2024-25 (Women). The team will train in Amsterdam, Netherlands, until June 8 before heading to London, UK, for their first four matches against Australia and Argentina. India will take on the Australia Women's Team on June 14 and 15, followed by matches against the Argentina Women's Team on June 17 and June 18. Subsequently, the team will travel to Antwerp on June 19 for their next two matches against the Belgium National Team, scheduled for June 21 and June 22. They will conclude the European leg with two matches against China on June 28 and June 29 in Berlin, Germany, a release said. Ahead of departure, Indian women's hockey team captain Salima Tete highlighted the significance of the tour, stating, 'This is a very crucial leg of the FIH Pro League for us, as we will be facing four very strong teams. We've already played a test match against Australia earlier this year, and we'll further fine-tune our strategy in Amsterdam before our matches against the Hockeyroos and others.' Vice-Captain Navneet Kaur echoed Salima's thoughts, adding, 'We know we have some tough games ahead, but the team is confident after our performance in the Bhubaneswar leg of the Pro League. We're determined to go all out and collect valuable points in Europe.' India will look to build on their February momentum, when they held world No. 1 Netherlands to a 2-2 draw and earned a bonus point in the shootout in Bhubaneswar. Earlier this month, the team also tested new combinations in Perth, Australia, during five friendly matches against Australia A and the Hockeyroos. (ANI)
