The Indian women’s hockey team will look to bolster their chances of making it to the semifinal by winning against Scotland in the FIH World Cup Qualifiers at Hyderabad’s Gachibowli Stadium.
India opened their campaign against Uruguay on Sunday and secured a deserving 4-0 win. Sunelita Toppo (21′), Ishika (40′), Lalremsiami (49′) and Rutuja Dadaso Pisal (58′) scored the goals for the home side.
India started the match little tentatively but after the goalless first quarter, they started putting pressure on their opponents. Even with a relatively young squad, India were clearly better than Uruguay, both on and off the ball.
The first goal came from a penalty corner. It was initially deemed that Annu’s dragflick went in directly but later the goal was given to Toppo who might have slightly deflected it in. Later, Ishika, the promising youngster, made it 2-0 thanks to an instinctive finish from the centre of the circle after receiving the pass from Sakshi Rana.
Later, Lalremsiami smashed in to score India’s third and then Pisal, who was outstanding throughout the match, scored the fourth after she was allowed to run into the circle and take the shot.
It was a good win despite the gulf in quality between both the teams as Sjoerd Marijne was looking for a positive start to his second stint as India head coach.
Meanwhile, Scotland also started their campaign on a winning note by defeating Wales 1-0 in their opening match. Amy Costello scored the only goal of the match from a penalty corner.
India vs Scotland will start at 7:30 PM IST on Monday.
You can follow the match on our blog below:
