An early goal can solve so many problems for a team. Unlike the match against the USA where India suffered a dismal loss, the home team took their very first chance of the match against New Zealand and scored. Only seconds had passed since the start of the match and Salima Tete relied on her trademark speed and ability to pick the right pass to ensure that India took the lead. Her pass to the centre of the circle caused havoc among the New Zealand defenders and before they could sort the bearings out, Sangita Kumari flicked it in. And just like that, India, who failed to create any meaningful chances in their opening match, forgot their struggles and started playing to their strengths.
Head coach Janneke Schopman said that the players did a lot of soul-searching after the opening night's loss and spoke a lot about their performances. It was a short turnaround for this match but credit must be given where it's due because Indian players did not carry any burden from the USA defeat.
While New Zealand did well to make it 1-1 from a penalty corner thanks to Megan Hull, India were by far the better team in the opening quarter. It took them only three minutes to take the lead back after Udita Duhan converted her penalty corner chance. Against the USA, India did almost nothing from the penalty corners they earned but that was not the case against the New Zealand. And then two minutes later, India doubled their lead. They attacked from the left with Beauty Dungdung entering the circle with a lovely bit of dribbling and pass to the centre. Neha Goyal made a run for a tap in but the ball took a deflection of a defender's stick and went in.
India played to their strengths and were 3-1 up even before the first quarter came to an end.
While there were drastic improvements from all the players involved, there was none more significant than Salima. She was at the heart of everything good India did on Sunday. Her run and pass resulted in the opening goal and she was also heavily involved in the third goal, providing the ball to Beauty who ultimately got the goal. It wasn't just the goals and assists, Salima was also the first runner against the penalty corners and was outstanding. In the second quarter, when New Zealand were threatening to reduce the deficit, she covered her line to perfection to thwart dragflick chances.
She was constantly shifting her positions during the match. India's first and the third goals came from either flank and Salima was heavily involved in both. She also moved to the centre as the match progressed and had a couple of good opportunities to make a run to the circle. Even with seconds remaining in the match, when the victory was all but secured, Salima excited the crowd with a lovely bit of play on the left, beating her marker with a quick turn and control. She eventually lost the ball after running some 30 yards but full marks for the effort.
When the likes of Vandana Katariya, Rani Rampal or Gurjit Kaur are not there in the squad, Salima becomes the most important player in terms of scoring and creating chances. She has to play the role that Rani played in India's previous Olympic qualification campaign.
While the win was necessary, it should be noted that India could've done a lot more in the third and fourth quarters. New Zealand didn't do much to threaten but neither did India. Maybe the plan was to control the proceedings considering India had a two-goal lead. But it would've only taken one goal from New Zealand to generate panic among the Indians.
Nevertheless, India got the win to keep their Olympic hopes alive. There's one match left against Italy on Tuesday which they need to win again, and a lot will also depend on the game between the USA and New Zealand.