s2h Team

A winless tour may otherwise have caused disappointment. But India’s women’s team that toured Buenos Aires recently did not. First of all, the tour did take place amidst COVID-19 situation and went off well with the bio-bubble environ. These are  heartwarming developments. The long tour drew some positives and ample cheer from the  eight-match tour.

The World No. 2 Argentines are a premium product in the world of women’s hockey. To run the Las Leonas close is a creditable performance. And if the ball ran a little differently in two of four matches (one was a washout) against the senior home side, India could have notched ‘Rahane’s Australia moment’.  

The tour was an answer to a collective prayer by the team who spent almost a whole year in a Covid-19 bubble that confined them to training in Bengaluru for most of the year gone by.

Argentina won the first match 3-2 and followed that up with a 2-0 victory. After incessant rain caused the abandonment of the third match, the fourth ended in a 1-1 draw – the vaunted Las Leonas equalizing five minutes from the end with a penalty stroke.

In the first match too, India captained by the iconic Rani Rampal led 2-1 going into the fourth and final quarter only for Argentina to bounce back with two goals and victory.

Much as India matched their illustrious hosts toe-to-toe in the second match, crucial penalty corner goals settled the issue.

One mustn’t forget, however, that Argentina may have been in an experimental mode with the Tokyo Olympics presumably on the horizon. Still, the Indian lasses, ranked distant No.9, produced percentage hockey stemming from systematic training under Dutch coach Sjoerd Marijne. They denied their top opponents space and didn’t shy of taking the battle to the opposition camp.

But in a multi-nation event, come July if and when the Olympics get going, Marijne knows too well that the team must raise their performance a couple of notches higher.

The Dutchman was quick to spot a lapse or two in concentration when his team led 2-1 in the first match. It’s usually enough for a crack team like the Las Leonas to get a foot in the door and bring the citadel down.

That’s exactly what happened. Goals by Augustina Gorzelany (50^th minute, penalty stroke) and Maria Granatto (57^th), a thorn in rival defences, snatched a win for the home side.

Marijne called for consistency in all four quarters and concentration. Points to be noted and underlined if India are to jump up the ladder from 12^th position at Rio 2016. He also called for calm in the ranks. Understandably, 2-1 up with 15 minutes to go and that against Argentina would have brought pressure and anxiety of its own and it seemed to undermine the girls as the minutes ticked by.

If failing to hold on to a lead was the bugbear in the first match, the inability to capitalize on chances in the second did the team in.

Marijne commended the team on creating opportunities in the first two quarters but without that translating into goals, punishment from the Las Leonas was imminent. Surely enough, while their penalty corner battery fired, India’s remained silent with disastrous consequences as a 0-2 defeat may suggest.

Rain caused the loss of valuable competitive play in the third match and with just one match left on tour, India’s resolve to break a winless run was plain to see.

They provided the sparkle despite the home team controlling play for most of the encounter. India even took the lead – Rani finding the net in the 35^th minute.

Argentina, however, turned on the heat to equalize – again via a penalty stroke. The ability to withstand relentless pressure when ahead is an area that will need addressing and Marijne and his staff  know that a change of character and mentality when in that zone would be crucial come tournament play.

Heartening, though, was the performance by goalkeeper Savita Punia and could well have been a factor in the taut nature of the matches. Her saves in the heat of battle kept India in the game and often inspired a change of momentum in the proceedings.

The team played two matches against the Argentine juniors before the seniors’ encounters – drawing both 1-1 and 2-2. Defeats followed, albeit by the narrowest of margins, to Argentina B who won 2-1 and 3-2.

Eight matches in Buenos Aires resulted in three draws, four defeats and one washout.

India scored a total of nine goals on tour, conceding 14. Forwards captain Rani Rampal and Sharmila Devi, defenders Salima Tete and drag flicker Gurjit Kaur scored two goals each with defender Deep Grace Ekka netting one.

But beyond the numbers, Rani’s tweet in which she expressed the immeasurable gains from playing a team the caliber of Argentina is likely to hold her team in good stead for stern challenges that lie ahead.