Valencia (Spain): The Indian women’s hockey team will look to continue their winning run in the FIH Women’s Nations Cup 2022 when they face Ireland in the semi final, here on Friday.
The Savita-led Indian team began their campaign with a dominant 3-1 win over Chile, then defeated Japan 2-1 before defeating South Africa 2-0 in their third Pool B match to top the group with nine points and secure their place in the semi final.
The FIH Women’s Nations Cup 2022 is an important fixture in the international calendar as it brings in a system of promotion-relegation, with the Champions being promoted to the 2023-24 FIH Hockey Women’s Pro League.
“We have performed admirably in the FIH Women’s Nations Cup 2022 so far. The game against Chile was excellent, as we dominated from the start. We performed well against Japan, a strong defensive team that always presents us with a challenge,” said captain Savita on her team’s performance.
”Our players brought their A-game to the field against South Africa in the most recent match, giving us a lot of confidence heading into the semi Final,” she added.
The skipper further mentioned that her team definitely wants to win the tournament.
“Of course, we want to win the tournament as it will also allow us to play in the next season of the FIH Hockey Women’s Pro League 2023-2024. We participated in the previous edition of the tournament, and it was a wonderful experience for us. Playing in the Pro League will serve as a good preparation for Asian Games and the 2024 Paris Olympics,” she said.
Savita expressed excitement about their upcoming game against Ireland, saying that the Indian team is looking forward to bringing their ‘A’ game to the field against the Irish side.
“As I said, we will look to continue our winning run against Ireland. They finished second in Pool A and are a strong team. They can upset any team on any given day, and we will use all of our resources against such a team,” she concluded.
(IANS)
