K. ARUMUGAM

Indian women’s hockey team make an important milestone in their glorious history today. They will be playing their maiden FIH Pro-League match today at a neutral venue. They were questionably denied the honour of playing the prestigious league by their own national body, Hockey India till Tokyo happened. By their stellar show at Tokyo Olympics that stunned the hockey world, the Indian eves had forced Hockey India to no longer deny their rightful place in the elite echelon. For some reasons, India is fielding only men’s team from the second edition onwards, after withdrawing from the inaugural number. The mistake is being corrected today with the Indian eves entering the elite field at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Oman.

That the women forced Hockey India for the honour is a big statement that all should take note of. Patience and performance can do wonders. Hats off to the present lot of Indian women hockey players.

India-China match will take place today 16.00 hrs IST. India is ranked 9th in the FIH ladder while China is placed four rungs below at 13th.

However, as Indian women’s chief coach Janneke Schopman has pointed out during the recent Asia Cup, China is a formidable outfit. “China has lost to South Korea and Japan by a solitary goal. They are a very strong team”, she said.

China was among the top four in the previous two decades before fund crunch led to their slide in the global ranking. Nowadays, they are recouping well and are inching towards regaining their top FIH ranking.

However, China has brought only 15 players to the Asia Cup, and there are no indications that they will bring more players for the Pro-League also.

However, India on the other hand has its full strength stationed in Oman. Nikki Pradhan, who was injured and did not play single match in Oman is back. Deepika, the Haryana lass, is already here, having spent good time with the Asia Cup team.

Both India and China, previous Asia Cup finalists, had stayed in Oman for over a fortnight and are well accustomed to the Oman turf and environment. The turf here is a fast one, with mild undulations, even the circle turf is different from the rest! It was relaid for the Asia Cup, giving a strange tricolour look.