Bhubaneswar, Feb 17: The Indian women’s hockey team will be eager to get back to winning ways when it faces a confident Spain in the doubleheader here.
After a promising start with a thrilling 3-2 victory over England in their opener, the India narrowly missed out on a bonus point in their second game, losing 2-1 in a dramatic shootout after the match ended 2-2 in regulation time.
Despite showing resilience, India currently sit in eighth place in the standings with four points from two games and will be looking to climb higher in the points table as they face a confident Spanish side on Tuesday and Wednesday.
India’s performance against England offered glimpses of their potential, particularly in penalty corner conversions, where they scored twice from three attempts in their opening match.
However, they failed to replicate that success in the second game, unable to convert any of their three penalty corners.
“Spain is a tricky team, and we know it’s going to be a challenging contest. However, we are ready for the challenge,” India captain Salima Tete said.
“We’ve analysed our performances against England and identified the areas where we need to improve, especially in converting penalty corners. We are focused on tightening our defense and making the most of our scoring opportunities.”
Spain, on the other hand, arrives on the back of two consecutive victories against Germany in the India leg. They secured back-to-back 2-1 wins over the Germans, boosting their confidence.
Despite their strong recent performances, Spain has had a mixed run overall, with just two wins and one shootout victory in six games.
Currently placed fourth in the points table with eight points, Spain will be looking to further consolidate their position. Patricia Alvarez has been their standout player, scoring twice to lead the team’s goal tally.
Match starts 5:15 PM on Tuesday and 7:30 PM on Wednesday. (PTI)
