The Indian women’s hockey team defeated Spain with a score line of 1-0 on Saturday in Valencia to claim the first-ever FIH Nations Cup. As a result, the team coached by Janneke Schopman has been elevated to the FIH Pro League 2023–24.
Gurjit Kaur’s strong drag flick after a penalty corner in the fifth minute gave the Indian team, an early lead in the ultimate match against the Spanish team. Not to forget, Team India had won the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham earlier this year.
Every member of the team will receive a monetary prize of Rs 2 lakh from Hockey India, and all of the support staff will receive Rs 1 lakh each.
Indian women won FIH Nations Cup
Spain had defeated the women in blue by the same margin in their previous meeting between the two finalists at the FIH Women’s World Cup in July earlier this year.
In the 41st minute, the Spanish team made a valiant effort and appeared to have cracked the Indian defence, which was led by goalie Savita Punia. However much to India’s relief, the goal though was rejected.
Udita, who scored the winning goal against Ireland in the semifinal, was given a green card (a two-minute suspension) for committing a foul in the 45th minute of the match, temporarily reducing the Indian team to ten players, but the Spanish side was unable to capitalise on the opportunity.
Prior to a stunning 2-1 victory over Ireland in the penalty shootout in the semifinal, the Indian squad defeated Chile (3-1), Japan (2-1), and South Africa (2-0) in the group stage. It was a fantastic five for the women in blue as India finished the competition with a perfect record, winning all five of its games
Looking at the previous season, after Australia and New Zealand withdrew due to COVID-19-related problems, India and Spain took their places as substitute teams in the FIH women’s hockey Pro League for the 2021–22 season.
In the 2021–22 FIH Pro League, India came in third place, which was honourable. It meant that the country was not eligible for the current 2022–2023 Pro League season.
