India in trouble with two draws, next match against Kiwis
The Indian women’s hockey team is yet to perform as expected in the FIH World Cup. The Indian team stopped the first two matches on a draw. The first match was from England, while the second match was from China, now Team India will face New Zealand’s challenge. On Thursday, the Indian team will be eyeing a place in the quarter-finals by winning this match. If India wants a direct quarter-final ticket, then it will have to win this match in any case.
The Indian women’s hockey team, which finished last year with a scintillating performance at the Tokyo Olympics, finished fourth in their first two matches, drawing 1-1 against Tokyo Games bronze medalists England and China. The Indian team led by Savita is currently third in Pool B with two points. China and New Zealand are above that. New Zealand beat England 3-1 on Tuesday.
According to the format of the tournament, the 16 teams are divided into four pools of four teams each. The top team from each pool will advance directly to the quarter-finals, while the second and third placed teams will crossover. In the crossover, the team placed second in Pool A will face the team placed third in Pool D while the team placed third in Pool A will play the team placed second in Pool D.
Similarly, the team placed second in Pool B will face the team placed third in Pool C while the team placed third in Pool B will play the team placed second in Pool C. The winners of these four matches will advance to the quarter-finals. To top Pool B, India will have to beat New Zealand and at the same time hope that China fails to register a win against England.
