Rourkela, Feb 16: Bruised and battered, the Indian women’s hockey team will look to end the campaign at home on a high note when it takes on Australia and the USA in the Pro League here over the weekend.
Having failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics, the Savita Punia-led team’s performance has gone from bad to worse against the top sides in the ongoing FIH Pro League, losing five of their six matches.
After suffering a 1-2 defeat in their first match against China, India went on to lose 1-3 to the Netherlands and 0-3 to Australia before beating the United States 3-1 in their final match of the Bhubaneswar leg.
In their first match of the Rourkela leg, India took the lead early but China came back strongly to win the game 2-1. India then went on to lose 0-1 to the Netherlands.
Although they produced a much-improved defensive show against Netherlands in the previous game, they lacked sharpness and innovative moves upfront and their penalty corner conversion rate remains abysmal.
“We lost the last encounter against Australia but we are focused on securing the win this time and we will give our one hundred percent,” Savita said.
“Australia plays a similar style to us, they are exceptional at transferring their balls and their finishing is top notch but we will aim to nullify this and win our one-on-one battles.
“We are as good as any team playing this tournament so we will give it our all when we step out on the field as these are crucial matches for us,” she added.
Australia have had more favourable results in the recent past against India including the 3-0 win in the Bhubaneswar leg earlier this month but the hosts will look to replicate their 1-0 win over their fancied opponents in the 2020 Olympics quarterfinal.
On the other hand, India have beaten USA on four out of the last six occasions that the two teams have met.
The Pro League will next move to Belgium and England for its second leg, to be played in May-June. (PTI)
