New Delhi, 26th July 2023: The Indian Women’s Hockey Team came from behind to record a thrilling 1-1 draw against England in their opening game of the 100th Anniversary Spanish Hockey Federation – International Tournament on Wednesday in Barcelona, Spain. For India, Lalremsiami (41’) scored a goal, while Holly Hunt (7′) was the goal-scorer for England.
The game began with England quickly settling into a passing rhythm while controlling the majority of possession, and it paid off when Holly Hunt (7′) scored a field goal with a powerful and well-placed shot from inside the D to give her team the lead. Following that, India upped the ante in search of an equaliser, repeatedly testing England’s defence and even coming close to scoring on multiple occasions, but were unable to find the back of the net as the first quarter ended with England leading 1-0.
In the second quarter, India increased the frequency of their attacks in an attempt to level the score, forcing England’s midfielders to make back passes and maintain possession. Interestingly, the strategy assisted England in neutralising the Indian team’s attack, allowing them to maintain their 1-0 lead at the half-time break.
To capitalise on their lead, England launched a strong offensive push in the third quarter, earning the game’s first penalty corner. They were, however, unable to capitalise on this opportunity. Meanwhile, India remained determined to equalise and switched to a counter-attacking strategy. The smart game plan paid off when Lalremsiami (41′) converted a penalty corner to help India get back into the game. Both India and England won multiple penalty corners in the dying minutes of the third quarter but both teams were unable to make the most of the opportunities as the third quarter ended with the score tied at 1-1.
High on confidence after scoring the equaliser, the Indian team came out all guns blazing in the fourth and final quarter of the match and kept England under pressure by attacking rigorously. However, England kept their defence tight and also won a penalty corner in the closing minutes of the match but failed to take advantage of it. The final quarter didn’t witness a single goal as the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
It is worth noting that young midfielder Jyoti Chhatri, who was recently part of the Indian Junior Women’s Hockey Team’s title-winning campaign at the Junior Asia Cup 2023, made her Senior team debut today when she took the field for the match.
Indian Women’s Hockey Team will next take on hosts Spain in their second game of the tournament on 27th July 2023 at 14:30 IST.
HOCKEY INDIA TEAM PARTNERS
Odisha (India’s Best Kept Secret) – Major Team Partner
Sports Authority of India (SAI)
Shiv Naresh
About HOCKEY INDIA
HOCKEY INDIA (HI) is the governing body with exclusive mandate to direct and conduct all activities for both men and women’s hockey in India. It is recognized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Govt. of India as the sole body responsible towards promoting Hockey in India.
Headquartered in New Delhi, Hockey India was established on 20th May, 2009 and is affiliated to the International Hockey Federation (FIH), the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and Asian Hockey Federation (AHF).
Committed to the development of Hockey in the country, Hockey India with the assistance of Sports Authority of India and Department of Sports, Government of India, trains players at sub-junior, junior and senior level. The governing body engages in Coaching the coaches with International Standard certification programs, educates and equips technical officials and umpires to find a foothold in international arena, provides world-class infrastructure and International exposure for the players besides regular international competition. Hockey India has also pioneered in bringing top International hockey events to India such as the FIH Men’s World Cup in 2010 and 2018, FIH Champions Trophy in 2014, FIH Junior Men’s World Cup in 2016 and 2021, FIH Hockey World League Final in 2017. With its vision to popularize the game and constantly promote it, Hockey India brought the Indian Men’s Hockey Team into the top three in the world. Hockey India is also dedicated to getting the Indian Women’s Hockey Team into the top three in the world.
About ODISHA
Odisha – the Eastern State of India – is known for its love for Hockey and over the years it has evolved to be the Global Hub of Hockey. The State successfully hosted the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018, followed by the FIH Men’s Series Finals Bhubaneswar Odisha, FIH Olympic Qualifiers Odisha, and FIH Hockey Pro League 2020-21. Odisha has previously hosted the Champions Trophy 2014 and the Odisha Men’s Hockey World League Final Bhubaneswar 2017. Odisha also hosted the FIH Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup in 2021.
Kalinga Lancers, the team owned by the State, were the winners in the Hockey India League 2017. Taking a step further towards realising the dream of restoring the glory of Indian Hockey at the global level, the State is sponsoring the Indian Hockey Teams till 2033.
Odisha also hosted the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023.
