We've What it Takes to Win on Foreign Soil: India Women's Hockey Skipper Savita Punia

Indian women’s team skipper Savita says her side has what it takes to win on foreign soil as it faces hosts Belgium in a double-header of the FIH Women’s Hockey Pro League this weekend.

The Indian team is currently placed at the third position with 22 points in eight games, just behind Argentina and the Netherlands.

Belgium, on the other hand, are placed in the seventh place on the table with 12 points in eight matches.

The women’s side will play Belgium on June 11 and 12 at the Sportcentrum Wilrijkse Plein Stadium in Antwerp, hoping to improve their overall standing.

“We are prepared for Belgium. We have a number of seasoned players in our squad who know what it takes to win on foreign soil,” Savita said in a release issued by Hockey India.

“We have been consistently performing well in recent months, and we are confident that we have what it takes to win big games away from home.”

India had stunned stunned Olympic champions Netherlands 2-1 in the first match of their double header but lost the second match 1-3 in a shootout in April.

“We have worked on the mistakes we made against the Netherlands in our previous two games and are confident that we will not repeat the same mistakes in the upcoming games,” Savita said.

“We have talked about the areas where we need to improve and worked hard in those areas and are confident that we’ll succeed here.”

Deep Grace Ekka, who has been named the vice-captain, said that the team has a lot of self belief and winning the next ties will boost its confidence ahead of the world Cup.

“I believe we are prepared. We have faith in ourselves, in our team, and, most importantly, in one another. We are aware that we must maintain our performance as we prepare for the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup, which will take place in July of this year,” Ekka said.

“We must maintain possession of the ball against Belgium, and we must be active and apply pressure to gain possession of the ball when we do not have it.

“Our immediate goal is to win these games, as well as the next matches against Argentina and the United States, in order to boost our morale ahead of the World Cup,” she added.