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Not a bad result but we were under pressure for 90% of the match. We defended really well and our keeper was outstanding. We hassled really well and denied easy passesinto our D. Australia created fewer chances than NZ, but still could have won this by 4-5 goals. They weren't outstanding, but much, much better organised (ie had passing options all over the pitch), were quicker and passed the ball at much greater speed which helps to switch flanks and create room to attack.

The commentators were praising our team and saying that by 2020 our young team maybe very competitive. I really hope this happens, but we need a quality coach to take us to a higher level. We simply can't play the ball out of defence. We just can't pass the ball across the back to the other or through midfield. Almost every time we passed 10m across to another defender who had 3 players on her and simply whacked up field in hope or sent an aimless aerial and handed the ball back to the opposition.

I have seen zero improvement in this aspect from any of Hawgood's teams or, before him, Kaushik's teams. Unless we get a big improvement on this weakness, we won't get too many results against the top 10 teams in the world. We may have more skilful players, but if we can't get the ball, we are not going to score too many goals.

Oh...almost don't need to state this; both umpires saw our fouls (real and imagined) and missed many fouls against us.

I honestly believe we could win matches like this one if we sort our structure to play the ball around in defence and work on our speed and fitness. A quality drag flicker would a huge bonus. I really hope HI appoint a new coach after Rio. They have already wasted 3-4 years with Hawgood. I have no faith in him.

Lost 2-1 to Japan. Again we were defending mostly and the opposition were able to find passes much more easily than us. They had little pressure when taking 23m free hits. They always had players in wide positions or midfield to pass to and then build up a decent attack. We had no clue, apart from a hopeful hit which invariable ended up on a Japanese stick well within our own half

Still, better than the thrashings GB gave us recently.

Yes, saw parts of the Australia match (which is archived on the site) and was pleasantly surprised to see that our players were as good as the Aussies on a 1-1 basis. However, the Aussies were fitter and tactically smarter with much better off-the-ball play. These are things a good coach and physical trainer can improve, so there is hope for the future....

Captain Ritu Rani dropped from Rio bound Indian team owing to "lack of performance & attitude problems".

Captain Ritu Rani dropped from Rio bound Indian team owing to "lack of performance & attitude problems".

Yes, rather strange stuff going on. Our selections are usually NOT based on form! Sad for Ritu Rani as we are sorely lacking quality and experience in the women's squad.

Our women have pulled off a 2-1 win over 5th ranked USA. 2 days ago, we lost 3-2 in the 1st match of this series.

Didn't see any of the matches, but these are impressive results against a team that finished 3rd in the recent CT. USA are physically fit, fast and play structured/organised hockey but didn't show much flair. In fact only the Dutch and Argentinians seemed to have that extra bit of class. All the other teams at the CT were at a similar level, so to get these 2 results is encouraging.

That is a good win indeed if USA was playing with full team. Nice result to get so close to Rio.

Indian womens team had 2 good wins against Canada over the weekend by scores of 5-2 and 3-1. Canada is ranked only 18th in the world but still good to get wins under our belt before Rio.

Hawgood is leaving. About 2 years too late in my opinion .

Let's hope we get a proper coach with a strong personality (to get the best selections). We aren't going to become medal contenders at world level in the near future because we just don't have top quality players but we should certainly be using common sense tactics to keep hold of the ball for more than 2 passes. We just can't pass the ball out of defence against a well organised high press. Our defenders are maddeningly slow to pass across the pitch to the other flank and our midfielders are too weak to receive when 1-2 opposition players crowd them.

We have beaten Australia 1-0. That is our first win over them in my memory. I watched a little bit of the first half and we looked ok, but Australia were very poor. They are rebuilding, but we are experts at losing to any top nation whatever strength team they field, so this is an excellent result. Our passing looked quicker and there were fewer silly errors. We have no drag flick option, so PCs are an old fashioned hit or a deflection. As mentioned in my previous post, Hawgood is leaving after this tour. I'm oping we can appoint a quality coach to replace him.

Wow, a win over Aussies in Australia in hockey is damn good. More so in women where we are ranked much lower than them.

Lost 4-1 to Australia in the 2nd test. Ouch...back down to earth then!. We have one more match to go. Let's hope for an improved performance.

We were 1-0 up in the final test when I looged on...and withing 10 mins we are 2-1 down. Usual story
10 mins left, so I expect a couple more goals against us!
There you go, 3-1 to Australia. They are just quicker than our players. So we lose the series. Nothing new. Still time to concede another, I suppose.

Some good news regarding a new coach:

Sjoerd Marijne appointed Indian women hockey team's chief coach

At last a quality coach for the women. Wouldn't it fantastic to see our ladies becoming competitive against the top 8 sides in the world. I expect a big improvement over Hawgood.

That is indeed good news. We have seen how good coaches can lift the team up at least a few notches in case of our men- Terry Walsh and now Oltmans. Hope same happens in case of our women.