Lessons learnt by the Indian women

After playing two warm-up games in the run-up to the Olympic qualifier, the Indian women’s hockey team learnt about the challenges it could face in the tournament.

Pitted against teams comprising of physically stronger players, the Indian side tried to find ways of tackling its rivals. “We cannot afford to hang on to the ball. We have to release it quickly in order to keep possession,” said coach C.R. Kumar, here on Tuesday.

Captain Asunta Lakra said the side had to examine the two warm-up matches against Italy and Canada. “We have recorded the matches. We will see the video and find out their strong and weak points. We will try to avoid their strong points and adopt different strategies during the matches,” she said, following the home side’s 5-2 comeback win over Canada in a 50-minute duel.

India banked heavily on penalty corner conversions and scored through Joydeep Kaur (2), Jasjeet Kaur Handa, Jaspreet Kaur and Anuradha Devi.

Canada’s Hannah Haughn and Brienne Stairs found the mark. Earlier, the host held Italy to a 1-1 draw in a 40-minute match.

“We did not start well (in these matches). Our main concern remains our start and we need to make some structural changes,” said Kumar.

“Opponents will try to put pressure on our defence in the initial stages and take an early lead. We have to stop them from penetrating our circle. The midfielders have to drop a little bit and help the defence in the opening few minutes,” he added.

Canadian coach Louis Mendonca said Indian forward Rani and the defenders did a good job. “We have to change our tactics against India during the tournament,” Mendonca said.