India vs China in FIH Women's World Cup: Savita Punia-led team to up the ante, aim at converting most chances

The Savita Punia-led Indian women's hockey team is gearing up for the India vs China match at the ongoing FIH Women's World Cup in Amstelveen. The India vs China match will be played on July 5.

India come into the game on the back of an impressive performance against England in their tournament opener. The entire unit combined like a well-oiled machine in defense to keep the England attack at bay.

Savita Punia, along with Deep Grace Ekka, Gurjit Kaur and Nikki Pradhan were on the money as their agile and strategic play denied England a winner and earned the side one valuable point.

Read: FIH Women's World Cup 2022: India squad, India vs China schedule, timings, live streaming details

The fact that India did not concede even a single penalty corner speaks volumes of how the defensive line combed up to combat all attacks.

However, poor finishing in the final third is an area of concern and in the India vs China match, the Savita Punia-led team will look to address this concern.

India holds the upper hand in India vs China match

India and China have locked horns thrice this year, with India winning on all three occasions.

The first India vs China match this year was at the Asia Cup where India registered a 2-0 win in the third-place match. Later in the FIH Pro League, India got the better of China 7-1 and 2-1 in both matches.

Skipper Savita Punia, however, refuses to let the statistics have an advantage and said the team is leaving nothing to chance. She told UNI:

"China is a very good team, they are full of surprises and we will have to be on top of our game against them. It will be really important to convert our chances and execute our plans perfectly. We are looking forward to a good challenge, and the focus as always will be to play good hockey."

Indian women's team chief coach Janneke Schopman stated that the team will be able to create opportunities if they stick to the game plan. She said:

"China is a difficult team to beat, they have a very good PC setup and they also defend well. If we can play our own game, we can hopefully create some opportunities."

Both India and China played out a draw in the opening match of the World Cup and the teams will be gunning to get their first win under their belt. While India and England played out a 1-1 draw, China drew against New Zealand 2-2 in their opening match.