Indian women’s hockey team ready to give it all against mighty Argentina

LONDON: After a narrow defeat against Australia, the Indian women’s hockey team is set to give their all against World No. 2 Argentina in their upcoming FIH Pro League 2024-25 (Women) matches in London on June 17 and 18.

Currently ranked 7th with 9 points, India is expecting a tough battle against Argentina, placed 2nd on the FIH Pro League (Women) points table.

Regarding the upcoming matches, Indian women’s hockey team captain Salima Tete said, as quoted from Hockey India, “Argentina is ranked No. 2 in the world and has won seven of their 12 FIH Pro League matches so far. Coming into this leg of the league, we knew they would be one of the toughest teams to beat. But we won’t go down without a fight — we’ll give it our all in both matches. The team has been training well to take them on and has been working on various strategies to win crucial points against them.”

Vice captain Navneet Kaur agreed, adding, “As you saw, the team gave Australia a tough fight in the last two matches, and we’re planning to do the same against Argentina. We’ll give it our all and aim to come out victorious. A win against Argentina will not only help us gain points but will also give the team a big morale boost as we head to Antwerp and then Berlin for our matches against Belgium and China.”

The Indian women’s hockey team will play their first match against Argentina on June 17, followed by the second match on June 18. Both matches will take place at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in London.

During India’s last outing in the FIH Hockey Pro League, Vaishnavi Vitthal Phalke (3′) scored the only goal for India, while Amy Lawton (37′) and Lexie Pickering (60′) were the goalscorers for Australia. India took an early lead in the proceedings, but Australia made a comeback with a goal in the third and final minute of the fourth quarter to seal the victory. (ANI)