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The Indian women's hockey team began their 2023 Asian Games campaign with a 13-0 win against Singapore in Hangzhou on Wednesday, September 27. Concerns regarding India's PC conversion prowess in the absence of Gurjit Kaur and Rani Rampal were put to rest with vice-captain Deep Grace Ekka, Navneet Kaur, Neha Goyal, Udita and Deepika finding the mark with their drag flicks on the day.
The Indian strikers combined admirably to outwit the Singapore deep defence in the first half, before David Viner's team tightened up near the backlines to stem India's goalfest in the third quarter.
Singaporean goalkeeper Liu Taylor was put to the test right from the start as the Indians earned early PCs with Udita scoring one in the fifth minute after Lalremsiami set the tone with a dazzling solo run.
Sushila Chanu piled on the misery for the opposition after India were awarded a penalty stroke. Deepika missed a sitter at the goalmouth, but made amends in a matter of seconds by converting a short corner before Navneet Kaur displayed her class with a direct drag flick.
Navneet was back on hand to score a field goal in a flash, leaving the Singapore deep defence in a state of disarray even before the end of the first quarter.
After a lull in the third quarter which saw a solo goal from Salima Tete who scored from a narrow angle, the Indians were back in business in the final quarter.
Neha Goyal scored off a PC while ace striker Vandana Katariya and Monika found the back of the net too. Sangita Kumar scored a fortuitous goal which trickled it's way past the Singapore goalie to hand the Indians a commanding opening win at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
The road for the Indian women's hockey team in the Asian Games pool stages
The Indians have three points in their kitty post a fluent win against Singapore, but the going will get tougher as the tournament progresses with five-time gold Asian Games gold medalists South Korea also drawn alongside India in Pool A.
Before locking horns with the Koreans, Jannekke Schopmans' chargers will be up against a gritty Malaysian side who breezed past Hong Kong 8-0 in their Hangzhou opener.
Back in 2018, the Malaysians failed to progress to the semifinals owing to an inferior goal difference as compared to the Chinese as both teams were locked at 7 points each after the preliminary stage.
The Malaysians, who were forced to withdraw from the 2021 edition of the Asian Champions Trophy, ended up fifth in the the Asia Cup last year. Savita and co. trounced the team by an imposing 9-0 margin at the 2022 Women's Hockey Asia Cup.
However, in the same tournament, the Indian eves went on to lose to South Korea by a 2-3 margin in Oman. Although the Koreans are ranked 12th as per the FIH while the Women in Blue are in 7th place, the two teams have played several close matches in the recent past.
Back in the 2018 Asian Games, the Indians under the tutelage of Sjoerd Marijne got past the South Koreans by a 4-1 margin in Jakarta, and Schopman's team will be hoping for a similar result which would pave the way for a place in the semifinals.
