Deepika (left) with Sushila Chanu after one of her two goals in Auckland on Saturday (Image credit: Hockey India)
The Indian women’s hockey team appears to have put its past struggles behind it as it continued its impressive run in the Nations Cup, thrashing Chile 6-0 in the semi-finals in Auckland on Saturday to set up a title clash with hosts New Zealand on Sunday.Navneet Kaur (6 and 13) and Deepika (14 and 18) scored two goals each, while Neha (36 and 39) and Rutuja Dadasu Bisal (39) each scored. Meanwhile, New Zealand beat the United States 4-1 on penalties after the semi-final match ended in a 1-1 draw in regular time.
The final will be an exciting contest as both India and New Zealand have won all their four matches so far and the hosts also have the advantage of playing at home.However, India will be full of confidence after a dominant semi-final performance in which they looked like a well-oiled machine.Sjoerd Marin’s side moved the ball smoothly, linked it well across the pitch and, most importantly, converted their chances – something they struggled to do consistently despite winning all their group stage matches. They particularly shined from the penalty spot, scoring four of the seven they conceded.Salima Tite was once again at the heart of India’s attacking attack and was named Player of the Match for her tireless running down the left flank.
“We decided as a team before the match that we would play together, and that’s exactly what we did. We played good hockey and stuck to our simple style. I’m happy with the team’s performance and mine,” the India captain said after the match.He added: “We want another win, and we hope we can score more goals.”Earlier, India were immediately out of line and took the lead in the sixth minute when Navneet scored his first goal of the match.
Seven minutes later, she doubled the score after Salima started from the left wing and found her in front of the goal to finish the ball easily.Deepika then converted two successive goals to make it 4-0 and take her tally in the tournament to six goals in four matches.Chile tried to return to the competition after the break, but India put the result beyond doubt in the third quarter. Neha collected a corner kick from Dipika’s penalty to make it the fifth before Rutuja curled in a brilliant finish to add the sixth.India won two more penalties in the final quarter but by then Chile were out of contention as India comfortably booked their place in the final.