The last time the Indian senior women’s hockey team faced Argentina was in the semi-finals of the Tokyo Olympics. They lost by a 2-1 scoreline but won massive respect, not just of fans and followers of the sport in the country, but also their opponents on that day. The 2016 champions and eventual 2021 runners-up knew they had been in a proper fight and the result could have easily gone either way till the very last moments in the game.
Since that day in Tokyo, to the upcoming weekend in Rotterdam, Netherlands, India will step on to the field with some pressure. It won’t necessarily be the pressure of winning the matches against Argentina, but just the pressure of turning around the quality of their performances in the FIH Pro League after coming off consecutive defeats against Belgium.
Argentina, on the other hand, will step on to the field with almost no stress because, they were already assured of the title on Saturday. While Argentina tops team the table with 38 points in 14 matches, India is currently placed at the third position in the points table with 22 points in 10 games.
While winning the Pro League title itself wasn’t the top of the priority list for…
