Hangzhou [China], October 7 : After clinching a bronze medal at the 19th Asian Games, Indian women's hockey team head coach Janneke Schopman lauded her team's performance in the pressure game and said against the defending champion Japan they showed their game.
The Indian women's hockey team registered a brilliant 2-1 win over Japan to clinch the Bronze medal at the 19th Asian Games.
This was India's fourth Bronze medal in Women's Field Hockey at the Asian Games. Deepika (5') and Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam (50') scored a goal each for the Indian team, while for Japan, Captain Yuri Nagai (30') netted the lone goal.
"I want to say thank you for all the support that we have received in the last couple of months. Hockey India was great in all their support and the same goes for SAI... We had a very important match today. I was really happy with the performance of the players because the pressure was high. But I think after the semi-final loss where we didn't play our game, today we showed up and played our own game," Schopman told Hockey India.
Meanwhile, India captain Savita Punia expressed gratitude towards the Hockey India and Sports Authority of India (SAI) for providing "good facilities."
"I would like to say thank you to Hockey India and SAI... They provide really good facilities... Today we played our game and everyone is doing really well. Honestly, I am so happy about our team performance today..." Savita Punia told Hockey India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the Indian team's resilience, teamwork and passion for bringing the bronze medal home.
https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1710632031837962637
"Congratulations to our Women's Hockey Team on their remarkable achievement of winning the Bronze Medal at the Asian Games! Their resilience, teamwork and passion have brought glory to the nation," PM Modi wrote in a post on X.
Talking about the bronze medal clash, the opening half of the India versus Japan game ended up being a tale of two halves. Five minutes into the game, India made a strong start and claimed the lead. India was given a penalty stroke after a foul from a penalty corner, and Deepika converted it with ease.
To ensure that her team entered halftime even with the opposition, Japan captain Nagai Yuri deflected a penalty corner into the goal from close range.
Neither team was able to generate any significant chances in the third quarter, which ended up being a gritty contest. Lalremsiami had a clear look at the goal near the end of the quarter but missed.
India took the lead right away in the final quarter, knowing that the bronze medal was on the line. Vaishnavi Vittal displayed excellent stickwork to earn India a penalty corner, but she missed a great chance to put India in front after the set play.
However, the following penalty corner resulted in a goal. Sushila Chanu received the ball, and her shot at goal took a deflection and looped over the Japanese custodian Eika Nakamura.
The goal calmed the Indian team's jitters, and Janneke Schopman's team played some sane hockey to finish the game.
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