The Indian women’s hockey team will look to put their disappointing Tokyo Olympics result against Great Britain on Wednesday behind them when they take on world no. 9 side Ireland in their fourth group stage match at the Oi Hockey Stadium - North Pitch on July 30, Friday.
The equation for Team India is such that they must emerge with a win against Ireland to keep their chances of qualifying for the quarter-finals alive. Ireland will be approaching the match on the back of a 4 - 2 defeat at the hands of Germany on Wednesday, but with plenty of incentive as the Irish side can secure their own quarter-final berth with a win.
Reflecting on the team’s underwhelming display against Great Britain, Indian women's hockey team chief coach Sjoerd Marijne said, “We underperformed as a team against Great Britain. It wasn’t a good match on our part, and we must quickly put it behind us and move on as there are still 6 very crucial points to play for in the Group Stage. We have to aim for the full 6 points from the next two games. It’s now or never.”
Indian women’s hockey team captain Rani Rampal believes that the team must assess their performance relative to the strength of opposition they have faced so far in the competition.
“Our Olympic campaign began with a series of matches against three of the best hockey teams in the world,” the captain said.
“Although the results have not been in our favour, we have approached and played each match with the right mentality. We will continue to do so in the next two games, and give it everything we have as a team to try and get 6 points to qualify for the knockout rounds,” Rani added.
Speaking about the match against Ireland, Rani said, “Ireland are a good team, and they are also the closest competitor in our pool. We have to do better to convert our goal-scoring chances against them; both in terms of field goal attempts and penalty corners. We did well against Great Britain to win so many penalty corners; our goal came from a PC as well. We have to improve our conversion rate in the coming matches.”
Where to watch India vs Ireland women’s hockey match at Tokyo Olympics live in India?
The India vs Ireland women’s hockey match at Tokyo 2020 Olympics will be telecast live on Sony TEN 2, Sony Six and their corresponding HD TV channels in India at 8:15 AM IST on Friday, July 30. Sony TEN 3, Sony TEN 3 HD, Sony TEN 4 and Sony TEN 4 HD will broadcast Tokyo 2020 in regional languages.
Live streaming of the India vs Ireland women’s Tokyo Olympics hockey match will be available on the SonyLiv app and website.
Live broadcast subject to Sony Sports Network.
Featured Image: Media/ Hockey India
