When the Indian ladies’s hockey crew registered good leads to tournaments over the previous couple of years, Navneet Kaur invariably could be the heartbeat of the crew’s attacking performs. Because the Rani Rampal period slowly wound down after the Tokyo Olympics, Navneet – who additionally hails from Shahbad’s well-known hockey nursery like the previous captain – emerged as one in all India’s most respected attacking shops.
Now the vice-captain and one of many senior members of the Indian ladies’s hockey crew in a brand new Olympic cycle, Navneet has to shoulder way more of the attacking burden on the pitch. On Sunday in Rajgir on the Asian Champions Trophy, she stepped as much as do exactly that within the third quarter when India had been being thwarted by a resolute Japanese defence. With the match tied at 0-0, Navneet produced a wonderful end for the breakthrough aim, earlier than Deepika added two extra within the fourth quarter.
India’s 3-0 win ensured that the hosts and defending champions completed first within the pool stage and can face Japan once more within the semifinals on Tuesday.
Deepika – main the goalscoring chart with 10 strikes – appears to have hit the stride on this match now, and scored two extra well-taken drag flick targets. India’s ultimate penalty conversion on the night time was 2 out of 9, however to contextualise that, Japanese goalkeeper Yu Kudo was in impressed kind, saving from PC conditions when India appeared sure to open the scoring.
Navneet steps up
It was an evening with the stakes not likely excessive for both facet. India simply needed to keep away from defeat to make sure they completed first. Japan’s qualification to the semifinals was already confirmed earlier than the match with Korea shedding in opposition to China. The real looking ambition for Japan would have been to battle for a draw maybe and sneak into third place and keep away from a semifinal in opposition to India. However China isn’t precisely a neater opposition anyway. So given all this context, the beginning of the match was understandably cagey.
India, particularly after a extremely intense match in opposition to China 24 hours earlier, didn’t hit their prime gear within the first half. Japan didn’t supply a lot when it comes to attacking menace – they didn’t have a circle entry till halfway by way of the second quarter. Including to India’s frustrations was Kudo’s brilliance within the first two quarters. At one level, she made a triple save from one Penalty Nook routine for India with Navneet, Sushila Chanu (who was beginning to rejoice with the ball practically sneaking by way of) and Sangita Kumari all thwarted within the house of 10 seconds.
However as soon as once more on this match, India hit a greater tempo proper out of the half-time break. The passes bought faster, the assaults grew extra direct and on the middle of it typically was Navneet. Moments earlier than breaking the impasse, she provided a reminder of why her childhood coach in Shahbad, Baldev Singh, regards her as probably the greatest within the enterprise relating to dribbling and dodging defenders. She drove by way of the guts of Japan’s defence to attract a foul. And when Lalremsiami took the free hit, she handed the ball behind to Navneet, who made a semi-circular run into the circle and unleashed a robust tomahawk – the backhand strike whistled previous the beforehand impenetrable Japanese defence with Kudo lastly crushed.
Navneet’s match, till tonight, was one thing of a blended bag. There may be by no means a scarcity of artistic passing and dribbling when she is on the turf, however she wasn’t all the time capable of finding the suitable connections. Typically she mishit photographs on aim, typically her efforts had been blocked off, and her low hits from PCs weren’t understanding. However she discovered a very good stability between chance-creation and chance-conversion in opposition to Japan, scoring probably the most essential aim on the night time that every one however ended Japan’s resistance. Fittingly, she was named participant of the match.
It was after the ACT match in opposition to Japan final yr in Ranchi – the place Navneet had scored the opener once more – when former coach Janneke Schopman appreciated how she was a feeder for the strikers forward of her however added that typically she’s so good at dribbling and stick-control that she has the tendency to carry on the ball too lengthy. Underneath Harendra, Navneet appears to have the liberty to be a roaming attacker greater up the pitch and it might – in the end of time – assist her rating extra too, quite than simply being a feeder.
