December 10
After playing four important practice matches (three against Spain and one against Ireland), the Indian Women’s Hockey Team are all-set to begin their campaign at the FIH Women’s Nations Cup 2022 in Valencia, Spain. In their opening match on Sunday, 11th December 2022, they will face-off against Chile.
Riding on the confidence from a good show at the CWG, where the team won a Bronze Medal, the Savita-led squad will be vying to start their campaign with a win.
“We are quite fortunate to have arrived here well in advance and it’s helped us get used to the cold conditions here. Playing three closely-fought matches against Spain and winning 5-1 against Ireland in the last practice match on Thursday has lifted the spirit of the team ahead of our opening match on Sunday,” expressed team Captain and ace goalkeeper Savita.
In Pool B, India is joined with Chile, Japan, and South Africa. Ireland, Italy, Korea, and Spain, who are grouped in Pool A, are the other participating teams.
The 2022 FIH Women’s Nations Cup is an important fixture in the international calendar as it brings in a system of promotion-relegation, where the Champions will be promoted to the 2023-24 FIH Hockey Women’s Pro League.
Savita further highlighted that it’s important for her squad to start the campaign on a positive note and carry forward the momentum, through the tournament. “It will be crucial for us to start on a winning note. This is an important tournament for us and starting well will help us gain the right momentum.
“Our focus will be on ourselves and ensuring we play to our potential. In the match against Ireland, we had goals from Beauty Dungdung, Neha, Gurjit, Sangita and Navneet. It’s always a good sign to have different goal scorers and shows the variety we bring in our attack,” she added.
India will face their Asian rival Japan, who they lost to in the Asian Games Final, in their second pool B encounter on December 12th. They will play South Africa in the third game on December 14, and the knockout games will take place on December 16 and 17.
Every game in this competition will be fiercely contested because every team is competing to advance to the FIH Hockey Pro League. The emphasis will be on ourselves and the procedure we have been rehearsing, and as I mentioned, we can’t take any team lightly, Savita said.
