Mumbai: A different side to the Indian women’s hockey team was on display in the Asian Games on Sunday at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium.
Through the course of the campaign so far, India have brushed aside all opponents ranked outside the top 15 that they have faced. But against world No.41 Singapore, in the last Pool B match, the Indians struggled to find the rhythm they had shown en route to securing their top spot in the group to progress to the semi-final.
They did get the expected win against Singapore, beating them 7-0. But in a campaign that had started with much flair and cohesion in the squad, the forwardline looked toothless in front of a spirited defence for most of the match.
In many ways, it was good for India to have a rusty and error-prone performance in a group-stage match against an unfancied side. They can ill afford to make any of those mistakes in the upcoming games with a gold medal – and an Olympic quota – at stake.
The campaign had started with a 19-0 win over Uzbekistan, followed by 17-1 and 20-1 wins over Indonesia and Thailand respectively. In the fourth group game, they took on world No.12 and 2018 Asian Games champions Japan, and put in an impressive performance to win 3-1 and all but ensure the top spot in Pool B, which would avoid a meeting with China in the semi-final.
Against Singapore though, the Indian attack, which had scored goals at will against lesser opponents, failed to show the killer instinct in front of goal.
{{/usCountry}}Against Singapore though, the Indian attack, which had scored goals at will against lesser opponents, failed to show the killer instinct in front of goal.
{{/usCountry}}So much so that this was the first match in this Asian Games in which India failed to score in the first quarter, despite having four penalty corners.
The second quarter was much better with captain Salima Tete opening the scoring in the 17th minute. Sunelita Toppo scored a brace within three minutes (22nd and 24th min) while Lalremsiami (26th) and Rutuja Pisal (29th) chipped in to make it 5-0 at halftime.
The second half then was more like the opening quarter with the Indian attack again struggling to string together passes inside the shooting circle and wasting chances from penalty corners as Singapore defended with desperation.
Nikki Pradhan, the seasoned defender with over 200 caps, scored a scruffy goal – her third senior international strike – to put India up 6-0 in the third quarter, before the team’s highest scorer in the competition, Deepika Sehrawat hammered home a drag-flick in the fourth quarter.
On paper, it was a comfortable win, but on the pitch, it proved a scrappy affair. If India were to let their guard down for one game in this Asian Games, Sunday was a good day for that to happen.
Up next for them is five-time winners South Korea in the semi-final. They can afford to make no more mistakes.