TOKYO, July 28: The Indian women’s hockey team wasted chances galore to lose 1-4 against defending champions Great Britain here on Wednesday, its third consecutive preliminary stage defeat which reduces the side’s chances of qualifying for the Olympic quarterfinals.
The Indians were guilty of wasting opportunities in their first two games and the trend continued on Wednesday at the Oi Hockey Stadium as Great Britain punished them through strikes from Hannah Martin (2nd and 19th minute), Lily Owsley (41st minute) and Grace Balsdon (57th minute).
This Great Britain’s second consecutive win in Pool A. For India, Sharmila Devi scored the lone goal in the 23rd minute.
The Indians needed at least a point from this game to be safe but they now will have to win their remaining two matches to have any chance of qualifying for the knockout stage.
India had earlier lost 1-5 to world no.1 the Netherlands before slumping to a 0-2 defeat against Germany. Rani Rampal’s side will next play Ireland on Friday.
Despite the score-line, it was a close match between world no.11 India and world no.5 Britain. The difference between the two teams was that India had the better share of chances but Great Britain utilised more opportunities that came their way.
India secured as many as eight penalty corners in the match but converted just one. Great Britain too didn’t have great success rate from set pieces as they found the net just once from the six they earned. Great Britain started aggressively and put the Indian defence under pressure from the word go.
A livid Indian women’s hockey head coach Sjoerd Marijne described the 1-4 loss as his side’s “worst match” of the ongoing Olympics and lambasted the players for failing to raise their game in the crucial match.
“This was our worst match. We always try to play for a six (out of 10) for each individual, and I don’t think each individual today played for a six. Bad decisions, bad choices and I’m pretty disappointed by this,” the Dutchman said after the match.
“The goal was too early, but the individual performances just weren’t good enough. I can keep analysing what went wrong tactically, but it starts with every individual reaching their level and that didn’t happen today.”
Despite the setback, Marijne Insisted that they still have a chance of progressing to the knockout round and asked his players to introspect.
“We still have chances. There are still six points to get and that can be enough for the quarters. That’s what we’re all about, that’s our goal and that’s what I said to the girls,” the coach said. “But they (players) really need to think how can this happen that our individual level went so down.” (Agencies)
