Birmingham: The Indian Women’s Hockey Team and Indian Men’s Hockey Team are set to take on Canada in their pool matches respectively on 03 August 2022. The match against Canada will be the Indian Women’s Hockey team’s fourth match at the prestigious quadrennial event while the Indian Men’s Hockey team’s match against Canada will be their third match at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
The Indian Women’s Hockey team have been in sublime form at the Commonwealth Games 2022 so far. They easily recorded wins against the likes of Ghana and Wales and are all-geared up for their third match which will be played today against nemesis England. With two wins from their two matches so far, they are poised to qualify for the next round of the tournament.
Talking about their match against Canada, Deep Grace Ekka, Vice Captain of the Indian Women’s Hockey Team said, “The start to our Commonwealth Games campaign has been flawless. None of the players have deviated from the game plan and have executed it perfectly. The resounding win against Ghana and Wales has given us a lot of confidence that will come in handy in the latter stages of the tournament.”
The experienced defender also added, “Our team has shown good mental fortitude till now. The match against Canada will be a challenge but if the squad continues in the same fashion with the same mindset, I am certain we will come away with a win. They are a tough opponent and we will have to be at our best to beat them. Also, since we took on Canada at the World Cup in the classification stage and won, our team is buoyant of our chances against them.”
The last time the Indian Women’s Hockey team took on Canada was at the recently concluded FIH Women’s World Cup that was held in Spain and Netherlands. The Indian Women’s Hockey team came out on top as they defeated Canada in the shootout 3-2, after the game ended as a 1-1 draw in regulation time.
The Indian Men’s Hockey team started their Commonwealth Games campaign in Birmingham in blistering fashion defeating Ghana 11-0 in their opening match. The match against England was a highly entertaining clash that saw both teams score 4 goals each as the thrilling match ended in stalemate.
On the eve of their clash against Canada on Wednesday, Harmanpreet Singh, the Vice-Captain and one of the brightest stars of the Indian Men’s Hockey team at the CWG 2022, said, “Our resounding win against Ghana was the perfect way to start our Commonwealth Games campaign here in Birmingham. Though we are a little bit disappointed about our performance against England, there are several takeaways from that match for us particularly when it comes to discipline and not letting our guard down when we have a good lead on board.”
Harmanpreet went on to say, “Canada is a tough opponent, it has been a while since we faced them in any official tournament, but our game plan is clear and the players are ready to execute it perfectly as our preparations for this game have been rigorous. We are confident that we will do well and book our spot in the next round of the tournament.”
The last time the Indian Men’s Hockey Team took on Canada was at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup back in 2019, where the Indian Men’s Hockey team eased past Canada as the match ended 7-3 in India’s favour.
The Pool A match between The Indian Women’s Hockey team and Canada at the Commonwealth Games 2022 will start at 15.30 IST. The Pool B match of The Indian Men’s Hockey team match against Canada will start at 18.30 IST. The matches will be telecast live on Sony Ten 3, Sony Six, and streamed on Sony LIV app
