2016 Rio Olympics: Great Britain outclass India 3-0 in women's hockey

After defeat in the second match of the Olympics, the team next faces Australia on August 10

Indian and Japanese women hockey players vie for the ball during opening match of pool B at the Rio Olympic 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Sunday (PTI Photo)
Indian and Japanese women hockey players vie for the ball during opening match of pool B at the Rio Olympic 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Sunday <b>(PTI Photo)</b>
Press Trust of India Rio de Janeiro
Last Updated : Aug 09 2016 | 8:15 AM IST
Indian women's hockey team could not produce the performance of their opening match against Japan as Great Britain convincingly overpowered them 3-0 in the second match of the Olympic Games, here today.

After a cautious first quarter, the English women who are the London 2012 bronze medalists, unleashed their fury by scoring within two minutes in the second quarter.

Giselle Ansley pierced through captain Sushila Chanu and goalkeeper Savita Punia to sound the board with a powerful dragflick breaking the deadlock in the 25th minute.

Before the Neil Hawgwood-coached team could settle down, it was Nicola White whose deft strike made it 2-0.

The third half too went against India with Alex Danson making it 3-0 in the 33rd minute with some effortless dribbling as Indian women had no answer to them.

The strategy was to hold the possession and start attacking from the second quarter.

"Indians are naturally skillful individually. So we went on the attacking to make sure we are on the right side of the scoresheet," Crista Cullen said.

A couple of times Vandana Katariya looked to get going, but just lacked that ability to pull away from the physically stronger British players.

The first quarter however looked different with India putting up a solid defence as they went on to impress in the last 15 minutes against the two-time bronze medalists.

Indians were reduced to 10 players with five minutes to go as Deepika Thakur was yellow carded but they ensured that there's no further damage by putting up a solid defence.

"To play in Olympics after 36 years was big and there was a lot of pressure on us. We will have to learn from the mistakes and come back stronger. We still have hopes to make the quarters," captain Sushila said.

India, who drew against Japan 2-2 in their last match, next face Australia (August 10), the USA (August 11) and Argentina (August 13) in their remainder league matches.
*Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Smart Quarterly

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

SAVE 46%
*Complimentary New York Times access for the 2nd year will be given after 12 months

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Exclusive premium stories online

  • Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

First Published: Aug 09 2016 | 4:57 AM IST

Next Story