Watching an early exit after three consecutive losses, the Indian girls’s hockey staff can’t accept something lower than a victory towards Eire in its penultimate pool match right here on Friday to maintain its quarterfinal hopes alive within the Olympic Video games.
However after three morale-shattering defeats, it could be a Herculean job for the Indians to elevate their confidence and outplay the next ranked facet like world no.7 Eire.
India are at present positioned fifth within the six-team Pool A, just under Eire who’ve registered only one win and two losses from their three video games.
India and South Africa are but to open their accounts. The highest 4 groups from every pool will qualify for the knockout stage.
The highway forward is hard for India as they would want to win each their remaining two video games—towards Eire and South Africa (on Saturday) — and enhance their aim distinction to be on the secure facet.
They’d additionally want beneficial outcomes from different video games and hope for a Nice Britain victory over Eire on Saturday.
However these equations will come into image provided that India can beat Eire on Friday.
So, it could be a do-or-die match for the Sjoerd Marijne-coached staff and he would desperately hope for a greater exhibiting from his gamers towards Eire.
India, who’re that includes in consecutive Olympics in girls’s hockey, completed a lowly twelfth within the Rio Video games and one other heartbreak right here received’t do any good for the game within the nation.
Of their first three video games, India misplaced 1-5 to world no.1 Netherlands, 0-2 to Germany earlier than struggling a 1-4 defeat by the hands of defending champions Nice Britain.
It was not as if India didn’t create any possibilities in all of the three video games however the mis-firing forward-line disillusioned the staff.
India dedicated elementary errors in all departments of the sport, with midfield and defence being as guilt.
A furious Marijne described the 1-4 loss to Nice Britain as his facet’s “worst match” of the Video games and lambasted the gamers for failing to boost their recreation within the essential match.
“This was our worst match. We all the time attempt to play for a six (out of 10) for every particular person, and I don’t assume every particular person at this time performed for a six. Dangerous choices, unhealthy decisions and I’m fairly disillusioned by this,” the Dutchman had stated.
“…however the person performances simply weren’t adequate. I can hold analysing what went flawed tactically, however it begins with each particular person reaching their degree.”
However Marijne insisted that every one just isn’t misplaced as they nonetheless have an opportunity of progressing to the knockout spherical.
“We nonetheless have possibilities. There are nonetheless six factors to get and that may be sufficient for the quarters. That’s what we’re all about, that’s our aim and that’s what I stated to the ladies,” the coach stated.
However it could be simpler stated than performed because the faltering Indian defence might want to hold the trio of Elena Tice, captain Kathryn Mullan and Hannah McLoughlin in verify.
Although ranked under Eire, world no.11 India can beat Eire and have crushed them previously as effectively.
In February 2019, India defeated Eire 3-0 and drew 1-1 towards the identical opponents in a two-match sequence throughout a tour of Spain. PTI
