Women's Hockey Asia Cup: Injury-plagued India eyes fresh start against Thailand
India, ranked ninth in the world, will start favourites against world no 30 Thailand in the Pool B match.
India team pictured at the airport ahead of departure
HANGZHOU: An injury-plagued Indian women's hockey team will look to put behind past struggles and hope for a winning start against lower-ranked Thailand in its opening match of the Asia Cup beginning here on Friday.
India, ranked ninth in the world, will start favourites against world no 30 Thailand in the Pool B match.
India is the highest ranked team in the pool alongside Japan (12), Thailand and Singapore (31) and are expected to top the group. Pool A consists of China, South Korea, Malaysia and Chinese Taipei.
In fact, India is the second highest-ranked side in the tournament behind world no 4 China. The Asia Cup holds great significance for all teams as it is a qualifying tournament for next year's World Cup in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Injuries to key players, veteran goalkeeper Savita Punia and ace dragflicker Deepika, have somewhat weakened the squad.
While Savita is out with an ankle injury, Deepika, initially named in the squad, was ruled out at the last moment with a hamstring injury which she sustained during a training session.
Deepika has been replaced by Sakshi in the squad.
In the duo's absence, the onus would be on seniors like skipper Salima Tete, Navneet Kaur, Udita, Neha, Sharmila Devi and Lalremsiami to take up the responsibility.
The Indian women have been struggling this year, having been relegated from the FIH Pro League where they finished last after a disastrous European leg.
India's chief coach Harendra Singh knows very well that he will be under the scanner, especially after the forgettable European leg of Pro League.
Harendra's most important task would be to fix things in the team's porous and inexperienced back-line.
