Indian women's hockey team eases past Thailand with 13-0 win in Asian meet
Donghae (South Korea) (PTI): Dragflicker Gurjit Kaur scored five goals as the Indian women's hockey team thrashed Thailand 13-0 in its first game at the Asian Champions Trophy here on Sunday.
Gurjit gave India the lead in the second minute of the match after an infringement from Thailand in their defensive third awarded them a penalty stroke.
Gurjit, who scored four goals at the Tokyo Olympics, kept a cool head and put the ball in the back of the net.
Conceding an early goal put Thailand on the back foot straight away, and Vandana Katariya, the only Indian women's player to score a hat-trick at the Olympics, found the second goal five minutes later.
By the time the first quarter ended, Lilima Minz added another field goal in the 14th minute, while Gurjit and Jyoti scored two more from penalty corners in the 14th and 15th minute, giving India a 5-0 lead.
The second quarter started much the same way as India kept most of the possession giving no room to Thailand to cause any danger.
Within the first minute of Q2, Rajwinder Kaur, who made her international debut on Sunday, scored a field goal in the 16th minute, and in the 24th minute, Gurjit scored her third goal and Lilima scored another from a penalty corner also in the 24th minute.
The Indian team demolished the Thai defence as they struck another in the 25th minute through Gurjit, giving them a massive 9-0 lead at the end of the second quarter.
Returning from the 10-minute half-time break, India dominated by continuing to make threatening circle penetrations from the left flank. But Thailand dug in deep and defended well for the first six minutes in the third quarter.
Jyoti broke the threshold, scoring another field goal in the 36th minute to exceed India's lead by 10 goals.
A defensive error four minutes later from Thailand gave India another penalty corner, but this time Gurjit's powerful flick was deflected by the opposition. A well-constructed move from the middle late in the 43rd minute caught Thailand's defence napping as Sonika struck in her first goal in the match.
The fourth quarter saw Navneet Kaur threatening Thailand's defence with penetrating runs from the right flank. But Thailand's defensive troops managed to keep the danger at bay, preventing any further damage to the scoreline.
In the 55th minute, Monika managed to get her stick on a long pass inside the circle, as she deflected the ball into the back of the nets to exceed India's lead by another goal.
Three minutes later, Gurjit scored her fifth goal of the match from a late penalty corner, adding in the 13th goal for India.
This was the Indian team's first match since the historic fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics.
In the absence of Captain Rani, who has been rested from the tournament, India were led by veteran goalkeeper Savita.
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Barcelona legend Xavi Applies for India Head Coach Job, AIFF Rejects Due to Financial Constraints
New Delhi: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) was taken by surprise during its ongoing search for a new head coach for the Indian national football team, when it received an application from none other than former Barcelona legend Xavi Hernandez.
According to a report in the Times of India, Xavi’s name was listed among several other applicants, including former India head coach Stephen Constantine and ex-Liverpool player Harry Kewell. What raised eyebrows was that the application had been sent from Xavi’s personal email address. However, the contact number field was left blank, which left AIFF officials unsure about how to proceed.
Confirming the development, AIFF’s National Team Director Subrata Paul told TOI, “It’s correct that Xavi’s name was there. The application was emailed to the AIFF.”
Despite the excitement around such a high-profile name, the AIFF had to reject Xavi’s application due to budgetary limitations. A member of the AIFF's technical committee admitted that while it was flattering to receive Xavi’s interest, it was simply not feasible. “Even if Xavi was genuinely interested in Indian football and could be convinced to take up the job, we would need a lot of money,” the official told TOI.
Xavi had earlier stated in an interview that he closely follows Indian football, largely due to the increasing presence of Spanish coaches in the Indian Super League (ISL).
Xavi Hernandez, a product of FC Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy, is widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time. Known for his vision and passing accuracy, he played 767 official matches for Barcelona, forming a formidable midfield trio alongside Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets.
During his playing career at Barcelona, Xavi won five La Liga titles, three Copa del Rey trophies, and three UEFA Champions League titles. After leaving the club in 2015, he joined Al Sadd in Qatar, where he added four more trophies before retiring in 2019. On the international stage, Xavi was a key part of the Spanish national team that won the UEFA Euro titles in 2008 and 2012, and the FIFA World Cup in 2010.
As a coach, Xavi enjoyed notable success with Barcelona as well, leading the team to victory in the 2023 Supercopa de España and the 2022–23 La Liga season.
