When the whole nation of India was celebrating the win of Lionel Messi and Argentina over France in the final of the FIFA World Cup, the Indian women’s hockey team was making the country proud. The Women in Blue lifted the title in its inaugural edition after they beat Spain 1-0 in the final of the tournament. This made them qualify directly into the 2023-24 edition of the FIFA Women’s Pro League.
The Savita Punia-led side, not only celebrated their momentous occasion on the field, but added some Carribbean flavour to their celebrations off the field. While entering their team hotel with their gold medals and the prestigious trophy, the Indian women’s hockey team were dancing in joy to Dwayne Bravo’s famous Champion song. All the players and support staff could be seen dancing their hearts out to the beats of the song.
Seventh-placed in the FIH rankings, India defeated Spain, who are a spot above them in the rankings by a slender margin of 1-0. Gurjit Kaur put the ball in the back of the net for India in the 6th minute of the game, from the well planned out penalty corner. The Indians then were strudy in their defence, and managed to defend their solitary goal, thus going on to win the first edition of the FIH Women’s Nations Cup that was being held in South Africa.
For India, Gurjit Kaur was the highest scorer of the tournament with 2 goals, and she was the second highest scorer overall, However, it was the Indian backline including goalkeeper and captain Savita Punia who were the major architects in this historic win for India. The Women in Blue only conceded 3 goals in the entire tournament, the least out of all sides, and as a result Punia was awarded as the goalkeeper of the tournament.
