4 min readNew DelhiMar 9, 2026 12:22 AM IST
In his first major assignment back as the Indian women’s hockey team‘s head coach, Sjoerd Marijne wasn’t quite sure what to expect from his wards in their first match at the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 Qualifiers. “We just had one practice match. I am excited and curious to see what we do in this tournament,” the Dutchman said ahead of their campaign opener against Uruguay on Sunday in Hyderabad.
And what he saw would have pleased him as a couple of youngsters making their senior debut impressed in a 4-0 win. Ishika (40′), who was part of the recent Junior World Cup squad along with Sunelita Toppo (21′), Lalremsiami (49′), and Rutuja Dadaso Pisal (58’) made it a comfortable outing against the South American side.
Four minutes into the first quarter, Rutuja dribbled into the circle and won the first Penalty Corner. India employed a variation first up, with Navneet Kaur slipping the ball behind her for Udita. But her shot was deemed to be raised and the goal was ruled out. India’s best chance came through open play when the highly-rated Sakshi Rana – switching flanks from left to right – released Lalremsiami through with a lovely pass. The control from the energetic forward was perfect, and she hit the target with her push-shot but Maria Bate in goal had cut the angle out.
Uruguay ended the quarter strongly, but India were the better side in possession without creating too many clear-cut outcomes in the opposition circle.
India’s main problem in the opening quarter was not bringing Navneet and Neha – the creative forces in the side – into play enough. Early in Q2, a fine run by Navneet through tight corners in the right flank earned India their second PC. And from the retake, India took the lead. Debutante Annu went for a drag-flick and the ball found the back of the net off a deflection. Originally, the goal was credited to Annu but Sunelita had managed to get the final touch.
Against the run of play, Uruguay won their first PC in the final moments of the half but Sushila Chanu showed all her experience to block the shot on goal to preserve India’s clean sheet heading into the break.
India squandered a golden chance to double their lead early in the quarter as Lalremsiami stole the ball from a Uruguay defender and found Ishika with time to take a reverse shot on goal but the youngster rushed when she could have taken an extra second and ended up hitting the ball off the backstick. But she would not be denied when Sakshi Rana hit a smart first-time pass into the circle that Ishika was able to sweep past a crowd of defenders to make it 2-0.
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As the game opened up, India started to turn the screw on Uruguay’s defence and the pressure eventually paid off. After a lovely switch of flanks, Rutuja found a smart pass down the left to find Lalremsiami in plenty of space, and she fired past the goalkeeper’s shoulder. The fourth came in the fourth quarter. Perhaps India’s best attacking player on the night, Rutuja got on the scoresheet too. Captain Salima Tete drove through the middle and released Rutuja, who dribbled into the circle and fired a low shot into the goal to cap off a nice evening’s work. India next take on Scotland on Monday in what could be the decisive fixture in Pool B.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
