Shazneen Mistry
In 2016, the Indian women’s hockey team made its first appearance at the Olympics in 36 years, at the Rio Games. It was then eliminated at the group stage but armed with a will to better its previous show, this team had put up a wonderful and strong fight in the Tokyo Olympics.
India’s women hockey team have made themselves and all Indians proud with their valiant effort at the Tokyo Olympics. The team led by Rani Rampal (Captain), played extremely well but lost the Hockey Bronze Medal match 3-4 to Great Britain at the Oi Hockey Stadium in Tokyo. The highlight of their stunning campaign was when India made history and became the first women’s hockey team from the country to make it to the semi-final. They came up with a courageous display to run the Rio Olympic champions close but they were not able to go past the finish line.
It was heartbreaking to watch when the Indian women dropped to their knees in heartbreak as the buzzer went off but they gave a tough fight to the Great Britain team in the final quarter. India was reeling 0-2 down early in the 2nd quarter but the Indian women players showed their class, scoring as many as 3 goals in 6 minutes to go into the half-time with a 3-2 lead. However, after conceding an early goal in the 4th quarter, India was unable to find the equalizer to force a shoot-off.
A brace from India’s star drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur and a goal from Vandana Katariya wasn’t enough as India lost the bronze medal match to Great Britain. Savita Punia was brilliant once again but it was heartbreak for the girls from India. Though the men's team rewrote history on Thursday as it claimed an Olympic medal after 41 years, women’s team couldn’t emulate that success.
The Indian fans were even proud of the way the women performed with a lot of against world no.2 Argentina in the semifinals even though they lost the match 1-2. The Indians fought valiantly and gave Argentina a run for their money but were guilty of conceding penalty corners at crucial junctures of the match which eventually proved costly.
With nothing to lose from here on, world no.7 India would fancy their chances against world no.4 Great Britain. There is no pressure on them as the 18 fearless and determined women had already done the unthinkable when they stunned three-time champions Australia 1-0 to enter the Olympic semifinals for the first time.
India's women's hockey best performance in the Olympics came way back in the 1980 Moscow Games where they finished fourth out of six teams. In that edition of the Games, women's hockey made its debut in the Olympics and the sport was played in a round-robin format with the top two teams qualifying for the final.
The Indian women's hockey team's chief coach Sjoerd Marijne revealed that the bronze medal match against Great Britain in the ongoing Olympics was his last assignment with the side. "I don't have any plans because this was my last match with Indian women," she said to the media. It was seen that both Marijne and the team's analytical coach Janneka Schopman were offered an extension by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) but the former refused the offer due to personal reasons. It is seen that Schopman is expected to take over Marine's position on a full-time basis now.
India’s Women Hockey Team
-Shazneen Mistry
In 2016, the Indian women’s hockey team made its first appearance at the Olympics in 36 years, at the Rio Games. It was then eliminated at the group stage but armed with a will to better its previous show, this team had put up a wonderful and strong fight in the Tokyo Olympics.
India’s women hockey team have made themselves and all Indians proud with their valiant effort at the Tokyo Olympics. The team led by Rani Rampal (Captain), played extremely well but lost the Hockey Bronze Medal match 3-4 to Great Britain at the Oi Hockey Stadium in Tokyo. The highlight of their stunning campaign was when India made history and became the first women’s hockey team from the country to make it to the semi-final. They came up with a courageous display to run the Rio Olympic champions close but they were not able to go past the finish line.
It was heartbreaking to watch when the Indian women dropped to their knees in heartbreak as the buzzer went off but they gave a tough fight to the Great Britain team in the final quarter. India was reeling 0-2 down early in the 2nd quarter but the Indian women players showed their class, scoring as many as 3 goals in 6 minutes to go into the half-time with a 3-2 lead. However, after conceding an early goal in the 4th quarter, India was unable to find the equalizer to force a shoot-off.
A brace from India’s star drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur and a goal from Vandana Katariya wasn’t enough as India lost the bronze medal match to Great Britain. Savita Punia was brilliant once again but it was heartbreak for the girls from India. Though the men's team rewrote history on Thursday as it claimed an Olympic medal after 41 years, women’s team couldn’t emulate that success.
The Indian fans were even proud of the way the women performed with a lot of against world no.2 Argentina in the semifinals even though they lost the match 1-2. The Indians fought valiantly and gave Argentina a run for their money but were guilty of conceding penalty corners at crucial junctures of the match which eventually proved costly.
With nothing to lose from here on, world no.7 India would fancy their chances against world no.4 Great Britain. There is no pressure on them as the 18 fearless and determined women had already done the unthinkable when they stunned three-time champions Australia 1-0 to enter the Olympic semifinals for the first time.
India's women's hockey best performance in the Olympics came way back in the 1980 Moscow Games where they finished fourth out of six teams. In that edition of the Games, women's hockey made its debut in the Olympics and the sport was played in a round-robin format with the top two teams qualifying for the final.
The Indian women's hockey team's chief coach Sjoerd Marijne revealed that the bronze medal match against Great Britain in the ongoing Olympics was his last assignment with the side. "I don't have any plans because this was my last match with Indian women," she said to the media. It was seen that both Marijne and the team's analytical coach Janneka Schopman were offered an extension by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) but the former refused the offer due to personal reasons. It is seen that Schopman is expected to take over Marine's position on a full-time basis now.
