Category: Hockey
Indian women’s hockey team to miss Paris Olympics after 0-1 loss to Japan
The Indian women’s hockey team faced a significant setback in their quest for Olympic qualification as they lost 1-0 to Japan in the third-place playoff at the FIH Olympic qualifier in Ranchi. The defeat means that India will not be able to participate in the Paris Olympics, following their semifinal finish at the Tokyo Olympics. Japan secured their victory with a goal from Kana Urata’s penalty corner conversion midway through the first quarter. Despite India’s dominance in possession and territorial advantage in the later quarters, they failed to find the back of the net, struggling against Japan’s solid defense. Despite having nine penalty corners, India couldn’t convert any, and their attempts to break down Japan’s organization proved futile. Captain Savita Punia might reflect on the conceded goal, as it went through her legs during an attempt to kick it away. The toll of the previous night’s semifinal shootout defeat to Germany seemed evident in India’s performance, as they started the game on the back foot. The team seemed to lack a clear plan, resorting to hopeful hits into the circle rather than a strategic approach. Even when Japan received a late green card, reducing them to ten players, India’s coach Janneke Schopman didn’t opt to remove the goalkeeper for an extra outfield player. This decision raised questions, as an additional player might have created more opportunities, especially when Japan had one less defender. The disappointing outcome in Ranchi adds to India’s recent struggles, including underwhelming performances in the 2022 World Cup and the 2023 Asian Games. The teary end in Ranchi could potentially jeopardize Schopman’s position as India’s coach, as achieving Olympic qualification was considered a minimum requirement. While India had their moments during the week in Ranchi, they fell short in crucial situations. Japan’s disciplined adherence to their game-plan frustrated India, ultimately earning them the win and a spot in the Paris Olympics.
India miss the goals, miss consistency, miss out on Olympics
It is a cruel blow for Indian hockey. Almost three years since the Indian women’s team finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics, they suffered a devastating loss in the third-place playoff against Japan at the FIH Women’s Hockey Olympic Qualifiers in Ranchi and will miss the Paris Olympics. While it seemed like Indian hockey and the women’s team were starting a positive chapter with their performances in Tokyo, Japan endured a tough campaign at home. The women’s team lost all their matches. Now, under head coach Jude Menezes, the former India goalkeeper, Japan have turned their fortunes around and qualified for the Paris Games with a 1-0 win over India. We take a look at India’s takeaways from what eventually turned out to be a dismal tournament: Inconsistent performances hamper India In a tournament where the top three teams were guaranteed qualification for the Paris Olympics, India ended up fourth. They did not play to their strengths against the USA but did well in the next two games to win them. They lost a close semifinal against the Germans and then failed to break down Japan’s defence. After being pretty ordinary against the USA, India found the goals, mainly through Salima Tete and Udita Duhan, to win against New Zealand and Italy. India qualified for the semifinal, but it was evident that they needed improvement, in terms of other players contributing. They did that against Germany, where the team finally clicked as a unit. India defended well and took their chances under pressure with the match ending 2-2 in regulation time. But strangely, the team faltered in the next match against Japan where their attack and defence (at least in the first half) struggled. India conceded two penalty corners in the opening five minutes of the first quarter and Japan scored from the second chance. Not just the goal-scoring chance, India allowed Japan to dominate in the first half, leaving plenty of open spaces in midfield and defence. Even the best falter at crunch time The inconsistency also came to bite arguably India’s two best players from this tournament – Salima Tete and Udita – who both had off days against Japan. Salima, whose finishing improved massively over the year, missed a golden chance in the dying minutes of the match. She had the ball inside the circle on the left, she did well to control it and went for a shot but missed the target. There were two Indian players — Nisha Warsi and Jyothi in front of goal and ready to receive the pass but it ended up being a bad choice to shoot and a bad miss from Salima. In terms of chance creation as well, she didn’t do enough when her team needed her the most. Udita, meanwhile, was guilty of leaving too much space behind her in the backline which allowed Japan to dominate the left side of the field. She missed a couple of her tackles in the opening quarter, which resulted in Japan entering the circle from the left and creating goal-scoring chances. While she was successful with her penalty corners in the previous matches, she failed against Japan despite multiple attempts. Eventually, India did not convert any of their nine penalty corners.