The men have done it -- bossing the Asian Champions trophy 2016 in Malaysia after defeating Pakistan in the final of the competition last Sunday. It is now time for the Indian ladies to try and emulate the feat of their male counterparts.
The India women's hockey team take on China in the women's Asian Champion trophy 2016 final on Saturday in Singapore for a place in history. Three editions of the women's hockey tournament has taken place prior to this and India came close to lifting the crown in the 2013 edition, but lost out to Japan. GET THE MATCH REPORT OF THE FINAL HERE.
Can the likes of Sushila Chanu, Deep Grace Ekka and Rani Rampal get the job done for Team India in the fourth edition of the tournament? That remains to be seen.
At the moment, the China women's hockey team have the edge. They defeated India on Friday itself in a group game with the final result being 3-2. The defeat was incidentally also India's first one in the Asian competition this year.
China topped the five-team group with India being second. While the former accumulated nine points from their four games, India bagged seven from their four games. Japan were also tied with India at seven points, but Neil Hawgood's side fortunately had a better goal difference to make it to the final.
"I think if we [India] can control the game for longer periods than we did against China [on Friday] and not turn over the ball with simple basic mistakes, we will be able to control China a little bit better in the final," Hawgood told PTI over the phone from Singapore. "We are quite confident about the final. We have to stick to the plan at all times.
"China are very fast on the counter attack, and we need to prepare better for that off the ball," the Australian added.
Schedule
Women's Asian Champions Trophy Hockey 2016 final: India vs China is set for a 7:30 pm local time (5 pm IST) start on November 5.
Where to watch live
India: TV - none. Live streaming - YouTube (available for streaming all over Asia).
