Gold Coast: Coach Harendra Singh should be a proud man today as his team upset the balance of the Commonwealth Games turning it their way by defeating the Olympic Champions England 2-1 in their Pool A encounter today.
With this win, India kept their chances of qualifying for semifinals intact at the ongoing Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast, Australia. It was an inspiring performance from the Indian eves who were down by a goal to change the table their side in the match through their comeback. It was England who started the scoreboard rolling with a goal from their skipper Alexandra Danson in the 1st minute of the match. This happened to be the only goal for the first two quarters as Navneet Kaur (42′) and Gurjit Kaur (48′) scored in third & fourth quarters to help India secure the victory which puts them in a strong position to qualify for the next round with a tally of six points and a pool match to play against South Africa on April 10, 2018.
England, the 2014 Commonwealth Games Silver Medalists, initially caused India a few problems, but Indian Goalie Savita was ever agile and made sure that Danson’s second shot in the 4th minute was saved. India up their rhythm of the game as Namita Toppo and Lalremsiami both attempted shots at the English goal, both went futile. They even failed to utilize a Penalty Corner which they were awarded in the 8th minute.
Second quarter saw England putting pressure on Team India with an early Penalty Corner, however the drag-flick went wide. Another attempt at the Indian goal post was thwarted by Indian goalkeeper Savita in the 19th minute while Elena Rayer went wide in the 21st minute. India showed an unpenetrable in the second quarter under constant attempt at the goal through field goal attempts and penalty corners.
Chief Coach Harendra Singh’s perhaps inspired the team to go offensive post the half-time break as India looked rejuvenated and on attacking mode. India even got a chance in 38th minute but the English Keeper was intact. Soon thereafter the English team also got a penalty corner, only to be thwarted by the Indian Goalie. India kept on trying to keep the ball under their possession and it was rewarded in the 42nd minute when Vandana Katariya’s pass to Navneet Kaur opened the scoring for India. Teams went for the final break with a 1-1 scoreline.
Coming off the break, India kept the momentum intact only to be rewarded again in the 48th minute when India earned a penalty stroke when Rani’s shot from inside the circle was impeded by an English defender. 22-year-old Gurjit Kaur then struck past Hinch’s left side to score get the lead for India. This happened to be the final scoreline as with only 12 minutes to the end of play, India thwarted all four hits to the Indian defense line while a last minute goal attempt by Monika was saved by the English side.
Speaking post the match, a satisfied Chief Coach Harendra Singh said, “It was a tough match today against a very strong side, but the girls produced a strong performance. This victory is special as we won against players who have won the Gold medal at the Olympics. I am sure it will give our team more confidence going into the next match as we have won two consecutive matches now after having faced a set-back against Wales in the opening match.”
Further speaking about his team’s performance in the first three matches of the CWG 2018, Singh said, “We had a tough start to our campaign against Wales but we have to give the credit to the girls that they have come out strongly to win two matches on the bounce. It takes character and a good mindset to be able to make a comeback from such a situation, and this is something we are trying to build within the team.”
Speaking about their next match against South Africa on 10 April, 2018, he added, “We have improved in every match as a team which is great to see as a Coach. But now we will be taking our next match against South Africa as a Quarter-Final as whichever team wins, will go through to the Semi-Final. However, we need to keep our focus and perform like we did today, to make sure we can go past a good South African side.”
India will take on South Africa in their fourth Pool A match on 10 April, 2018 at 1500hrs IST.
New Zealand held at 0-0 Draw by Canada:
In the second match of the Women’s Hockey event, today, Black Sticks Women were held to a scoreless draw by a 21- ranked Canadian Team. The New Zealand team could not find a way through against a stubborn Canadian team.
The two team found it tough under the midday sun in a nail-biting encounter, but provided plenty of end to end action for thousands of fans who had come along to cheer them on. The Black Sticks started the match on offensive, creating plenty of scoring opportunities only to last as futile attempts at the Canadian Goal. Canadians, on the other hand, fought strongly for ball possession and impressed with their defense. New Zealand’s had a minor hiccup with the refereeing in the second quarter when they were given a penalty corner by an on-field umpire only to be revoked by the TV umpire as the hit had just missed the backboard.
Black Sticks will be disappointed not to build on their previous two wins, Canada, ranked 21, will take many positives from their performance against fourth ranked New Zealand.
Speaking in the post match ceremony, Canada’s Katherine Wright said, “We gave them a real run for their money. We’re pretty proud of that performance. To keep New Zealand, who’s a top five team in the world, down to 0-0 is pretty special for us.”