FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup: India vs New Zealand Live Updates

India is set to take on New Zealand on the third match day in pool B of the FIH Women's Hockey World Cup. The match will be played in Amstelveen, the Netherlands. The Indian Senior Women's Hockey Team is coming into the game with two points from the two games they played in Pool B.

23:00 PM: Hello and welcome to Khel Now’s live updates of the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup 2022.

Janneke Schopman’s Indian Women’s Hockey Team put up a spirited fight in their second match of the FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup Spain & 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.

Reflecting on the performance, Indian Women’s Hockey Team Chief Coach Janneke Schopman said, “I thought we started well against a tight Chinese defense. 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.”

Read the full preview here - Preview: India vs New Zealand

“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,” Janneke Schopman added.

Vice-Captain Deep Grace Ekka, who played a key role in the defence in the match on Tuesday, said, “We expected China to put up a strong fight, having played them a couple of times in the last few months. But I am glad that our team fought till the end, and managed to get a goal back to draw the match against a strong defensive unit. We need to convert more chances, but we are glad to get another important point from the match.”

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. 

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.

Indian Squad

Goalkeepers: Savita Punia (C), Bichu Devi Kharibam

Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka (VC), Gurjit Kaur, Nikki Pradhan, Udita

Midfielders: Nisha, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Monika, Neha, Jyoti, Navjot Kaur, Sonika, Salima Tete

Forwards: Vandana Katariya, Lalremsiami, Navneet Kaur, Sharmila Devi

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