Hockey World Cup: Women of India seek to conquer the past of the World Cup | Hockey News

NEW DELHI: In 44 years of history of the FIH Women's World Cup spread over 14 editions (including 2018), India will only make its seventh appearance at the flagship event . But if the numbers and history of the World Cup do not feed much hope, the resilience, attitude and fitness of the team promised not to be pushed at the event that will begin Saturday in London.

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Many can still point the gulf between India # 10 and the nine teams above them in the rankings FIH, but these critical binoculars need to be adjusted for a clearer and more accurate current image.

Indian women have begun to close this gap, especially in the last year.

A testimony can be found in the entry of the team in the top 10 after recovering the Cup of Asia last year. They are now only behind South Korea (No. 9) and China (No. 8) in terms of Asian nations topping the FIH charts.

To finish fourth at the 2018 Commonwealth Games (CWG) only strengthened the belief that this group could improve on what its predecessors had accomplished. However, finishing above the fourth rank that India reached at the first World Cup in 1974 will be a miracle.

In practical terms, reaching the quarter-finals in London will be a great mark for a team that has started to compete better with the best hockey nations, but which can also be mercurial in nature.

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This has been seen twice at the CWG this year, where India played the game but has lost against Australia in the semifinals. 6 defeat against England in the bronze playoffs. That they beat the same English team in the pool phase tells that the performance can frustrate warmly and coldly.

Things in Indian women's hockey were not mediocre at first, considering fourth place at the 1974 World Cup and the 1980 Moscow Olympics, followed by the gold of the Asian Games of 1982.

But if we look at 36 years and count since an Asian Games gold (1982), 16 years since a CWG gold (2002) and wait 13 years to win another Asian Cup (2003 and 2017), the chart has only dropped.

The reasons may be as far as the cliché "lawn transition", focus more on men's hockey and performance in Asia being the so-called priority of the federation for women, which is certainly reflects in the chart of the Women's World Cup.

Since fourth place in the 1974 World Cup, India, besides several missed qualifications, has ranked seventh in 1978, 11th in 1983, 12th in 1998, 11th in 2006 and ninth in 2010 .

But from 2010, there was a welcome change in the federation's outlook. In other words, the reins of hockey from the former Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) to Hockey India (HI) benefited the game and players, men and women.

The improvement was obvious. The team won a historic bronze medal at the 2013 Junior World Cup, while the seniors finished a promising fourth place at the Gold Coast CWG this year, in addition to winning the 2016 Asian Champions Trophy. and the Asia Cup 2017.

This was the result of equal attention given to women's hockey in terms of the appointment of coaches, fitness experts, technical badysts and exhibition with more international tours.

So the 18 appearing at the World Cup in London can not complain. What the skipper Rani Rampal and coach Sjoerd Marijne will have to make sure, is that the girls are not overwhelmed by the enormity of the occasion.

This is where the 16 beginners will be tested. Only Rani and veteran Deepika have already participated in a World Cup. They will therefore have to play the role of shepherds in addition to being key players.

The first match itself will be a task, facing the world's No. 2 England backed by a full room at the Lee Valley hockey and tennis center. But Rani badured that India was ready.

"The key is not to rush and focus game by game," the skipper told TOI.com. "Our first game is against England and we are ready for that, we are well prepared, playing in front of a crowded stadium is always exciting.

In addition to England, Ireland and the United States are the other two teams that India will play in Pool B.

Butterflies can be felt in Gurjit Kaur's commentary. "It's my first World Cup, so I'm very excited," said the cornerstone specialist for India.

So the fight of this Indian team will be as good with them as with the opponents. A look at history and the past can be the source of nervousness, but it is important to remember that it is "the story". They have a job to do and looking back is the last thing they can do.

India in World Cup

Appearances: 6

Best results: Fourth (1974)

Matches: 39

Winner: 9

Lost: 27

Drawn: 3

Goals scored: 48

Goals conceded: 87

(Statistics by: BG Joshi)