Women's Hockey WC: Team India to face NZ in must-win game

AMSTELVEEN: The Indian women's team put up a spirited fight in their second match of the FIH Women's Hockey World Cup Spain and Netherlands 2022 as they drew 1-1 against Asian rivals China at the packed Wagener Hockey Stadium, Amstelveen on Tuesday. A goal from Vandana Katariya in the 45th minute of the match helped the Indian team in picking up a point after Jiali Zheng had opened the scoring for China in the 26th minute.

"I thought we started well against a tight Chinese defence. We were unlucky to not score early on and one moment of not paying attention defensively resulted in us conceding a goal. After that, we struggled for a bit but when we found the space, we were able to play some good combinations," India chief coach Janneke Schopman said in a statement.

"The PC goal was great but felt like we forgot to push through after that with China being more aggressive in the end phase. We are where we are but obviously, we would have liked to have more points. Our pool is incredibly tough and small things will make the difference," she added. India will next face off against New Zealand in their third Pool B game on Thursday.

It will be a must-win contest for the Indian team to make it to the quarter-finals. India and New Zealand will be meeting each other for the first time in five years. The two teams last faced off against each other in May 2017, when India had travelled to New Zealand for Test matches. In the five games played between the two teams in the tournament, India were unable to pick a win.

Speaking on their upcoming match against New Zealand, Ekka said, "New Zealand have been in good form in this tournament so far. We will be watching videos to study the opposition and we hope to be prepared going into the contest. It will be a tough game, but we hope we can get a win in our corner to climb up in the pool table."

Coach Janneke said that New Zealand will be tough opposition, and gave a glimpse on the team's strategies going into the match. "New Zealand will be a tough team to play again. They are very dangerous in their counterattack and we will have to be ready for that, on the ball we have to play to our strengths," she concluded.

New Zealand are currently sitting on top of the Pool B table with four points in two games, having drawn 2-2 against China, and picking a 3-1 win over England.