Welcome to Sportstar's coverage of Indian women's hockey team's Tokyo 2020 game against Great Britain. This was Dominic Richard taking you through the action as it unfurled at the Oi Hockey Stadium.
Thanks for tuning in!
Indian Hockey action for the day comes to an end. However, you can follow various other athletes from the country in action at Tokyo 2020 today through the link provided below.
INDIANS IN ACTION |
Next up, fifth-placed India will take on Ireland, which sits fourth in the points table, at 8:15 AM IST on Friday, while third-ranked Great Britain will face the World No.1 Netherlands at 3:30 PM IST on Thursday.
MATCH REPORT |
A brace from Hannah Martin and goals from Lily Owsley and Grace Balsdon guide Great Britain to a dominant 4-1 victory over India in a women's hockey Pool A match at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS:
AND THE MATCH IS OVER! GREAT BRITAIN BEATS INDIA 4-1!!!
60' VERY CLOSE! Indian midfielder Monika has a shot on target from a good position. However, the British goalkeeper Maddie Hinch makes a good save.
57' GOOOOAAAAALLLL!!!!! GREAT BRITAIN 4 - 1 INDIA!!! After back-to-back penalty corners, the British side won a penalty stroke when Sushila Chanu blocked a ball heading goalwards with her body. Grace Balsdon stepped up and converted it successfully.
54' GREAT BRITAIN ATTACK! Sarah Jones rushes forward with the ball. She then glides it towards Sarah Robertson on her left. But the Indian defence stays solid to regain possession.
51' Good defending from Nikki Pradhan as the British outfit came close to adding a fourth goal here. India averts the danger coming from the following long corner as well.
48' And once again, India loses the ball cheaply up front from a promising position. Great Britain regains possession and tries to waste a bit of time here.
THE FOURTH QUARTER IS UNDERWAY!
Great Britain looks like the favourite to seal the three points from here. But let's see if India can mount a comeback in the last 15 minutes.
THE THIRD QUARTER IS OVER!
44' All of India's wasted opportunities have come back to haunt the team. Seven penalty corners and only a solitary goal to show for the Indians.
41' GOOOAAAAALLLL!!!!!!! GREAT BRITAIN TAKES A 3-1 LEAD!!! This was a British penalty corner. The initial drag flick was saved. But the rebound went back to Britain. Eventually, Shona McCallin set up Lily Owsley for their side's third goal.
40' A COUPLE OF CARDS GIVEN! India forward Vandana Katariya receives a green card from the referee, while her teammate Salima Tete is yellow carded in the same minute.
39' INJURY! The star of the day -- Hannah Martin -- goes down to the ground after a tackle from Indian midfielder Navjot Kaur. However, she is fine to continue.
37' Captain Rani Rampal initiates an Indian counter-attack. The move earns India another PC but yet again it ends up as a wasted opportunity.
34' GREEN CARD! India's Sushila Chanu is booked by the referee for not removing her protective gear after a GBR corner. On the other hand, British forward Lily Owsley receives a yellow card for an offence moments later.
32' THREE CONSECUTIVE PCs FOR INDIA! That's six in total. Deep Grace Ekka took over from Gurjit Kaur as the penalty-corner taker. But she couldn't snatch the equaliser for her side.
THE THIRD QUARTER STARTS!
A brace from Hannah Martin has given Great Britain the lead at the end of the first half today in Tokyo. Meanwhile, Sharmila Devi's goal keeps India in the game. Thirty minutes to go. Stay tuned!
THE SECOND QUARTER IS DONE AND DUSTED!
29' INJURY! Great Britain defender Fiona Crackles goes down to the ground after receiving a blow to her head. She is being taken off the field for a concussion check.
26' Great Britain uses up a referral in an attempt to overturn an Indian penalty corner. But the referee's decision stands. However, India messes up the chance.
23' GOOOAAAALLLL!!!!! INDIA SCORES ONE!!! This was yet another Gurjit Kaur drag flick from a penalty corner. Sharmila Devi just stuck out the stick at close range with her left hand to score past British custodian Maddie Hinch.
22' Great Britain has dominated the possessional, attacking and passing stats by a huge margin in today's Tokyo Olympics match against India.
19' GOOOOAAAAALLLL!!!! GREAT BRITAIN 2 - 0 INDIA!!! Hannah Martin scores again. This one went straight through the legs of Savita Punia. Sarah Jones took the initial shot, and a save was made. Martin found the back of the net after winning the rebound.
17' CHANCE FOR INDIA! Navneet Kaur sprints with the ball. She wins a free-hit close to goal but isn't able to capitalise on the opportunity.
THE SECOND QUARTER IS UNDERWAY!
The early goal from Hannah Martin is the difference between the two teams in Tokyo today as Great Britain holds a 1-0 lead over India.
THE FIRST QUARTER ENDS!
15' The substitute Navjot Kaur and skipper Rani Rampal make a dangerous move forward on the right flank for India. But the British defence is alert and the danger is averted.
12' BACK-TO-BACK PCs FOR INDIA! Defender Gurjit Kaur isn't able to bag the equaliser from both as Great Britain initiates a counter-attack.
10' PENALTY CORNER FOR GREAT BRITAIN! Giselle Ansley comes up with the initial drag flick. Savita saves it. The rebound falls to Laura Unsworth, who wins a long corner.
8' India is clearly struggling here. The team hasn't completed a string of passes yet, being dispossessed often. Meanwhile, Ellie Rayer attempts to score now but puts the ball just wide.
5' ANOTHER GBR CHANCE! There's a brilliant move on the right flank. The final pass is sent towards Sarah Robertson, who is unable to collect the ball cleanly.
2' GOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!! GREAT BRITAIN TAKES A 1-0 LEAD!!! India looked rusty from the word go and the British outfit has capitalised on it. Shona McCallin took a shot from the edge of the 'D'. The ball took a deflection off an Indian defender, making it difficult for keeper Savita Punia. Hannah Martin received it and scored from close range.
AND THE MATCH BEGINS!
The players from both sides are out on the field and it is time for the national anthems, which will be followed by the toss in the middle.
The team lineups are out!
INDIA XI: Savita Punia (GK), Deep Grace Ekka, Gurjit Kaur, Udita, Neha Goyal, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Monika Malik, Salima Tete, Rani Rampal (C), Navneet Kaur, Vandana Katariya.
COACH - Sjoerd Marijne.
GREAT BRITAIN XI: Giselle Ansley, Maddie Hinch (GK), Hannah Martin, Shona McCallin, Lily Owsley, Hollie Pearne-Webb (C), Ellie Rayer, Sarah Robertson, Anna Toman, Susannah Townsend, Laura Unsworth.
COACH - Mark Hager.
MATCH PREVIEW:
Enduring a forgettable campaign, the bottom-placed Indian women's hockey team can't afford squandering any more chances if it fancies upsetting defending champion Great Britain at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday.
After a 1-5 drubbing against world number one Netherlands, the Indian players lifted their game by leaps and bounds to give third-ranked Germany a run for its money before losing 0-2 in their next Pool A match. But two consecutive defeats have definitely pegged the side back.
India created a lot of scoring opportunities against Germany but finishing was lacking from the forward line. On one occasion, Vandana Katariya was denied by the goal post too. But not converting the penalty stroke was a huge miss.
However, the Rani Rampal-led side can take a lot of heart from its performance against the Germans given that it kept the intensity and fight intact till the final hooter.
With two defeats from as many games, the Indian women are currently lying at the bottom of the six-team Pool A, which is being headed by Netherlands, followed by Germany, Great Britain, Ireland and South Africa.
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While Ireland has recorded a win in two games, both South Africa and India are winless but the Africans are ahead on goal difference.
But these are still early days with three matches remaining for all the teams. Top four sides from each pool of six will qualify for the quarterfinals.
India's chief coach Sjoerd Marijne acknowledges the improvement but said the form needs to continue if his side wants to secure a quarterfinal berth.
"We played better yesterday (against Germany) than our previous match. The quality of the play has to improve with each match, and that's what we are focusing on," he noted.
"It was unfortunate that we missed our penalty stroke, but I'm happy we created many opportunities to score, which was a positive sign. We played with a lot of energy and were able to put pressure on Germany."
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Ranked 11th in the world, India stands a chance to make the quarterfinals but for that to happen they will have to outplay seventh-ranked Ireland and South Africa, who are placed 16th.
If they play to their potential and make use of the chances, the Indians can very well beat world number five Great Britain, which so far doesn't look like the title holder. It has managed a win and a loss in two games.
Great Britain lost 1-2 against Germany before registering a 4-1 win over South Africa in its second match. India captain Rani Rampal too stressed on the need to keep improving in the competition.
"We created a lot of chances against a tough opponent like Germany and our defensive organisation was better than before. We know that we are on the right track and our time will come. We must show our strength and character as a team. This is a long competition," she said.
"...but we want to focus on our good takeaways from our previous match and identify the areas where we still need to improve."
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs):
- At what time will the Indian women's hockey team be in action?
The hockey game against Great Britain will start today at 6:30 AM IST (10 AM local time). - Where to watch Indian events at Tokyo Olympics?
The Sony Sports Network will broadcast Tokyo Olympics live in India.
Sony TEN 3 HD/SD will telecast India's events with Hindi commentary, while Sony TEN 1 HD/SD and Sony TEN 2 HD/SD will have English commentary.
Live streaming of the events will be available on the SonyLIV and JioTV apps.
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