Sports Desk, AnyTV, New Delhi
Published by: Rajeev Rai
Updated Fri, 25 Feb 2022 06:29 PM IST
Summary
The Indian men’s and women’s hockey teams will take on Spain in the FIH Pro League on Saturday. In such a situation, the men’s team will try to bring consistency in their performance against the lower ranked Spain team while the women’s team will take the field to continue their winning campaign against the same opponent.
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hear the news
Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist India started off with a 5-0 win over France in the Pro League but lost the next match 5-2 at the hands of the French team. However, after this, India won the two matches against South Africa by the same 10-2 margin. These matches were played in Potchefstroom, South Africa.
But the defeat in the second match against France was a surprise for India, which also alerted the Indian team and now they will not make the mistake of taking any opponent lightly. Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and International Hockey Federation (FIH) President Narinder Batra had also sought a response from Hockey India on this performance of the team in South Africa.
So when the Indian team takes on Spain, there will be a lot of pressure on the coaching staff and players, led by head coach Graham Reid, to perform well. Any adverse result can also adversely affect India’s preparations for this year’s Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. India will try to overcome its weaknesses against Spain. The defense players will need to play well under pressure. However, India will come as a contender for victory in this match. Spain had lost 1-6 and 2-3 to England in their first leg matches.
India skipper Savita said playing against top teams in the Pro League will give her an opportunity to assess her game ahead of the World Cup, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.
In the FIH Pro League points table, the Indian men’s team is fifth and the women’s team is at the third position with six points.
Expansion
Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist India started off with a 5-0 win over France in the Pro League but lost the next match 5-2 at the hands of the French team. However, after this, India won the two matches against South Africa by the same 10-2 margin. These matches were played in Potchefstroom, South Africa.
But the defeat in the second match against France was a surprise for India, which also alerted the Indian team and now they will not make the mistake of taking any opponent lightly. Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and International Hockey Federation (FIH) President Narinder Batra had also sought a response from Hockey India on this performance of the team in South Africa.
So when the Indian team takes on Spain, there will be a lot of pressure on the coaching staff and players, led by head coach Graham Reid, to perform well. Any adverse result can also adversely affect India’s preparations for this year’s Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. India will try to overcome its weaknesses against Spain. The defense players will need to play well under pressure. However, India will come as a contender for victory in this match. Spain had lost 1-6 and 2-3 to England in their first leg matches.