FIH Pro League: Jay Shah congratulates Indian women's hockey team for beating Netherlands

BCCI secretary Jay Shah congratulated the Indian women's hockey team after they defeated the Netherlands with a clinical 2-1 here at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Friday.

On his official Twitter handle, Jay Shah praised the determination of Team India on Saturday.

BCCI secretary took to Twitter to congratulate the team saying, "Hats off to the determination of #TeamIndia to come out on top with a 2-1 win! Congratulations on registering first win against the reigning World and Olympic champions."

All thanks to their efficient attacking performance backed by their usually stellar defence. The Netherlands came into the contest against India on Friday with a long unbreakable winning streak in the FIH competitions, with their last loss coming against Argentina in the FIH Hockey Pro League back in 2020. But with a much-changed team filled with youngsters, they more than met their match against an experienced Indian team.

With 8 players making their first appearances for the Dutch national team, the Dutch did not start the game as overwhelming favourites that they usually are. Indian line-up also featured a few changes, but their changes were linked to their younger stars being away at the FIH Hockey Women's Junior World Cup in South Africa. So the contest was set up as a youth vs experience battle and it played out that way. This was India's fourth win in the FIH Pro League.

There was a time in the match when the Dutch women put the Indian defence under great pressure with continuous raids but the hosts' defence stood like a rock to garner full three points and a rare win over the Netherlands.

The victory took India to the second spot in the points table with 15 points from seven games, while the Netherlands continued to lead the table with 17 points in their hands from as many matches.

After producing a stunning 2-1 win against the Netherlands, India women will look to do a double victory against the reigning Olympic champions as they meet for the second time on Saturday at the same venue.

( With inputs from ANI )

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