With the FIH World Cup just over 10 days away, the Indian women’s hockey team would look to utilise their last FIH Pro League double-header tie against lowly USA, starting on Tuesday, to address its weak areas ahead of the marquee event to be co-hosted by the Netherlands and Spain. (More Hockey News)
The Indian women produced a remarkable performance in their debut FIH Pro League season, occupying the third spot in the standings with 24 points from 14 games behind Netherlands (32 points) and Argentina, who have already clinched the title with 42 points from 16 games.
Star Sports has the broadcast rights for the FIH Pro League in India. The IND vs USA, women’s FIH Pro League, first-leg match will be live telecast on Star Sports channels from 8 PM IST. Live Streaming of IND vs USA, women’s FIH Pro League, first-leg encounter will be available on Disney+ Hotstar.
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All the FIH Pro League matches can be watched live on watch.hockey. Registration required.
Belgium are close on the heels of India with 22 points from 14 matches and the Savita Punia-led Indian side would be eyeing to sign off the campaign with wins over the Americans to finish a creditable third. The second match of the double-header will be played on Wednesday.
In their last FIH Pro League tie, India registered a 2-1 shoot-out win (2-2 in regulation time) and a narrow 2-3 loss to Olympic silver medallist team Argentina here over the past weekend. The two matches against the USA will provide Indian to measure their strength ahead of the World Cup beginning on July 1.
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“For us, the most important thing is that we could execute our plans and put up an improved performance over the weekend against Argentina. However, we could have done better, but I feel these matches are a confidence booster for us ahead of the World Cup,” India captain Savita said.
“There is still room for improvement for us and we look forward to plugging the loopholes in the matches against the USA. We've gained good momentum and hopefully, we will finish our debut Pro League campaign with good results,” she added.
With the World Cup just around the corner, Savita said the team is shaping up really well for the quadrennial tournament. USA are lying at the bottom of the FIH Pro League standings with just five points from 12 games.
In the World Cup, the Indian women's hockey team is placed in Pool B along with England, China and New Zealand. India will kick off their campaign against England on July 3 in Amstelveen, Netherlands.
Details of India vs USA Hockey Match
Match: FIH Pro League 2021-22, India vs USA, First-Leg Tie
Date: June 21 (Tuesday), 2022
Time: 8:00 PM IST/4:30 PM local
Venue: Hazelaarweg Stadion, Rotterdam,The Netherland
India vs USA, Women’s Hockey Head-To-Head Record
India women have played USA six times winning just once. The Americans won four time while one game ended in a draw.
