All posts tagged: india womens hockey

Sjoerd Marijne aims to improve India’s consistency as Asian Games, World Cup loom large

Sjoerd Marijne aims to improve India’s consistency as Asian Games, World Cup loom large

Published by Webster

4 min readMay 15, 2026 10:32 PM IST In a season packed with big-ticket events like the Asian Games and the World Cup, India’s women’s hockey team coach Sjoerd Marijne is focused on minimising injuries and maintaining consistency. “When I took charge in January, my first step was to get rid of a lot of injuries. We were almost 14, and then the qualification for the World Cup was important, so there was no time for development, no time for managing the load, and after that, we had a really good tour to Argentina,” Marijne told the media in an interaction facilitated by SAI. India recently played out a 2-2 draw in a four-match Test series against the second-ranked Argentina, but has been plagued with injuries since the Dutchman returned as coach in January. Sangita Kumari and Vaishnavi Vitthal Phalke are currently out due to ACL injuries. “Argentina is No. 2 in the world, and we could get to know the benchmark of world hockey. The benchmark was very important from there on, we had …

Jyoti Singh eyes a big year with the Indian Women’s Hockey team

Jyoti Singh eyes a big year with the Indian Women’s Hockey team

Published by Webster

Born in Jhansi, 21-year-old Jyoti Singh is already making waves in Indian hockey. The youngster has already shown her credentials in her brief career so far, captaining India at the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup City of Santiago 2025. She also made her senior debut last year, featuring in four matches of the FIH Hockey Pro League 2024/25 (Women), including a remarkable win against World No. 1, the Netherlands, a performance that highlighted her readiness for the biggest stage. Jyoti’s journey with sports started at a very young age, when she visited training grounds with her father, who was an international long distance runner. However, it was her cousin sister who inspired her to pick up the hockey stick at the age of 11. Reflecting on her journey so far, Jyoti shared, “Sports runs in my family. My father was an international athlete, so I’d go to the ground with him to do some running, and also play some badminton. However, it was my cousin sister who inspired me to play hockey. She was …

FIH Junior World Cup: Goalkeeper Nidhi steps up in shootout to save wasteful India, to play Spain for 9th place | Hockey News

FIH Junior World Cup: Goalkeeper Nidhi steps up in shootout to save wasteful India, to play Spain for 9th place | Hockey News

Published by Webster

With 17.1 seconds to go in the match, the ball was deep in Uruguay’s defence. India had a 1-0 lead to protect, but it should have much more significant for how much possession they enjoyed during the match. But in the blink of an eye, Uruguay broke forward and won a Penalty Stroke with two seconds left on the clock, to stun India and force a shootout. Eventually though, goalkeeper Nidhi stepped up in the tiebreaker to hand India a win that asked more questions than provided answers at the Estadio Nacional, Santiago. With the win, India entered the final classification match for the 9th-10th place, where they will take on Spain on Thursday “It was a tough game, we will analyse our mistakes. There was pressure in the shootout but we managed to come through, we are happy for that,” Ishika, player of the match, told the broadcasters. India got a reprieve in the fifth minute after a stray ball from Jyoti Singh gave Uruguay a chance to drive forward and win a Penalty …

Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup: Sakshi Rana’s solo strike the highlight in India’s 4-0 win against Ireland, but quarterfinal chances bleak | Hockey News

Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup: Sakshi Rana’s solo strike the highlight in India’s 4-0 win against Ireland, but quarterfinal chances bleak | Hockey News

Published by Webster

Scorers: Purnima Yadav (42′,58′), Kanika Siwach (12’) and Sakshi Rana (57′) In India’s 4-0 win against Ireland at in their final Pool C match of the FIH Junior Women’s World Cup, the highlight was Sakshi Rana – who has already made her senior debut on the back of a impressive Hockey India League season – as she lifted the ball from the turf down the left channel, dribbled into the circle, cut in and unleashed a fine low strike. But the reaction after the goal was telling – there was barely a hint of celebration, despite the scoreline reading 3-0. Because, India know their chances of progressing to the quarterfinals are bleak despite winning two of the three matches in their group. India will have to wait for the rest of the day – or even longer – as the group-stage matches wind down, to see if they can sneak in as one of the two best second-placed teams but it appears unlikely. They did, however, complete their part of the equation at the Centro …

Indian women’s hockey team gears up for pulsating showdown in Australia | Hockey News

Indian women’s hockey team gears up for pulsating showdown in Australia | Hockey News

Published by Webster

The Indian women’s hockey team is all set for a thrilling five-match series in Perth, Australia, from 26th April to 4th May 2025, a key step in their road to the FIH Pro League’s European leg. The tour kicks off with back-to-back matches against Australia A on April 26 and 27, before the real challenge begins: three fiery clashes against the World No. 5-ranked Hockeyroos on May 1, 3, and 4 – all hosted at the iconic Perth Hockey Stadium. Currently sitting ninth in the FIH World Rankings, India enters the series riding a wave of confidence. Their recent performance against world No.1 Netherlands, a 2-2 draw followed by a dramatic bonus-point shootout win in Bhubaneswar, has set the tone for what promises to be a competitive series. Story continues below this ad India also boasts a history of bold performances against the Aussies. In the 2023-24 FIH Pro League, India edged past Australia with a 1-0 victory. And who can forget their historic win at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, where India stunned the three-time …

Savita Punia stars as India Women draw with Netherlands | Hockey News

Savita Punia stars as India Women draw with Netherlands | Hockey News

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Playing short, crisp passes and going around the Dutch players — rather than trying to dodge past them — the Indian women’s team scripted a remarkable comeback to hold the Olympic champions to a 2-2 draw in their final home match of the Pro League on Tuesday. Later, Savita Punia — who on Monday played her 300th international — stood like a rock in the goal as she helped India win the shoot-outs 2-1 and claim a bonus point. The Netherlands started the match on the front foot and took the lead in the 17th minute through captain Pien Sanders. Eleven minutes later, Fay van der Elst doubled the visitors’ lead and it looked like the Netherlands would run away with the match. शानदार-जबरदस्त जीत! 🏑 Congratulations to the #WomenInBlue 🇮🇳 for a stunning shootout victory against the Netherlands 🇳🇱 at the #FIHWomenProLeague. A proud moment for Indian hockey! pic.twitter.com/2QFUwG0ad4 — Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) February 25, 2025 However, coach Harendra Singh tweaked the playing style at half-time, urging his players to play short passes. …

Why Indian women hockey’s loss to Netherlands is heartwarming moment | Hockey News

Why Indian women hockey’s loss to Netherlands is heartwarming moment | Hockey News

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It’s not often that the conqueror looks more disillusioned than the vanquished. Raul Ehren, the Dutch coach, was disconsolate that his team didn’t play up to its lofty standards. His Indian counterpart Harendra Singh looked upbeat that, for long spells, his players ‘troubled’ the Netherlands and that their game plan was ‘well executed’. The players from both teams, as they trudged back to their dug-outs, mirrored their coaches emotions. Going purely by the body-language, it would have been difficult for the uninitiated to tell the winner from the loser. For the record, it was the Netherlands who won 4-2. A scoreline flattering for many but ‘problematic’ for the Dutch. Story continues below this ad Then, the context too would have been lost on most. This was a battle of unequals. A match between a team that did not qualify for last year’s Olympics and hasn’t ever played a World Cup semifinal against a side that has — take a deep breath — won the World Cups in 2006, 2014, 2018 and 2022, the Olympics in …

As the Olympics return to LA, India women’s hockey coach wants players to create legacy like ‘Dhyan Chand in 1932’ | Hockey News

As the Olympics return to LA, India women’s hockey coach wants players to create legacy like ‘Dhyan Chand in 1932’ | Hockey News

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On his second day in Los Angeles, Harendra Singh went on a ‘pilgrimage’: visiting the hallowed ground — at least in Indian history — where, way back in 1932, Dhyan Chand’s wizards put on one of the most complete and ruthless shows in Olympic history. The Coliseum doesn’t look anything like it did back then — after hundreds of millions worth of makeover, the simple bowl-shaped stadium is now among the swankiest arenas which hosts major sporting events like the Super Bowl. But Harendra stood at the edge of the turf — a perk he could enjoy, being the high-performance director of the USA women’s hockey team — and dipped into nostalgia. “We have only read about Dhyan Chand dada in books or heard his stories. Standing there, I tried to imagine how they would have felt that day, what the atmosphere would have been like… You could feel it,” Harendra said. Story continues below this ad He’d done this in Berlin, too. Way back in 1997, while playing club hockey in France, Harendra took …

Indian Men Beat Spain 2-0 In FIH Pro League; Women Lose 1-2 In Shoot-Out vs England

Indian Men Beat Spain 2-0 In FIH Pro League; Women Lose 1-2 In Shoot-Out vs England

Published by Webster

The Indian men’s hockey team made a brilliant comeback to down Spain 2-0 in a return leg match of the FIH Pro League in Bhubaneswar on Sunday. India lost to Spain 1-3 in the first match of the leg on Saturday despite taking the lead through Sukhjeet Singh’s goal. On Sunday, however, it was a completely different looking Indian side as it dominated for most part of the match and scored two field goals through Mandeep Singh (32nd minute) and Dilpreet Singh (39th) to pocket full three points. India will next play Germany on Tuesday. It was India who enjoyed the better share of ball possession and created more chances in the first two quarters but failed to capitalise those into goals. India had the first chance in the fifth minute when Mandeep got a golden opportunity inside the circle, but the Spanish keeper Rafael Rivilla made a solid save to deny the Indian striker. Seconds from the end of the first quarter, India earned back-to-back penalty corners, but Jugraj Singh faltered. India …

FIH Pro League hockey: Vaishnavi shines as Indian women start with thrilling win; Harmanpreet and Co lose vs Spain | Hockey News

FIH Pro League hockey: Vaishnavi shines as Indian women start with thrilling win; Harmanpreet and Co lose vs Spain | Hockey News

Published by Webster

One Indian team scored two goals from penalty corners out of the three they earned, and another Indian team didn’t convert any of their three such chances. Before the day’s FIH Pro League action began in Bhubaneswar, one would not have quite believed that the former would be the women’s team. But that’s how it transpired as Harendra Singh’s India emerged 3-2 winners in a thriller against England, while Craig Fulton’s Olympic medallists began their campaign with a 1-3 defeat against Spain. Vaishnavi Vitthal Phalke (6th minute), who was arguably India’s best player on the pitch, and Deepika (25’) scored from India’s first two penalty corners in the first half. After England fought back to make it 2-2 with just two minutes to go through Fiona Crackles (58′), vice captain Navneet Kaur (59’) smashed in the winner in the dying moments of the match. Darcy Bourne (12’) had scored England’s first goal. Story continues below this ad Sunelita Toppo made a bright start to the match down the left flank and it was her drilled …