The Indian women’s hockey team remained unbeaten through the five-match bilateral series as they clinched the fifth match with a 1-0 win against Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.
It was Navjot Kaur’s fine field goal in the 35th minute that helped India win the match which was coupled with good defending that ensured they held on to the narrow lead till the end of regulation time.
India did well to create scoring opportunities with substantial circle entries but could not convert enough goals while Penalty Corner conversion remained a concern.
“We need to work on converting goals,” stated India’s chief coach Sjoerd Marijne who was not very pleased with the margin the team defeated Malaysia.
“I am happy with the number of times we entered the opponent’s circle. We created enough opportunities with shots and PCs but we have to keep working on converting in small space,” he said.
Speaking about the tour which saw India win 3-0, 5-0, draw 4-4 and win the last two matches 1-0 respectively in the 5 match series, Marijne said, “This tour gave us more insight on how to play against a very defensive team like Malaysia. Also it was good that some of our young players experienced what it takes at international level and this will really help us to create depth in the squad.”
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