New Delhi: The Indian women’s hockey team was crowned champions of the FIH Nations Cup after defeating hosts New Zealand 2-0 in the final at Auckland on Sunday.
Event Context
Navneet Kaur (4th minute) gave India the early lead before Sunelita Toppo (15th) doubled India’s advantage. The team produced a solid defensive display to protect their lead and win the title, which also marked their return to the Pro League next season.
India remained unbeaten throughout their campaign, defeating the United States of America 3-2, Japan 2-1 and Uruguay 3-2 in Pool A matches before registering a commanding 6-0 win over Chile in the semi-final.
Player Focus
Lalremsiami won the Player-of-the-Match award while Deepika Sehrawat finished as the joint-top scorer in the tournament with six goals, sharing the honours with American Ashley Sessa.
This is India’s second Nations Cup title, having won the inaugural edition in 2022.
To recognise the team’s achievements, Hockey India (HI) announced a cash award of ₹3 lakh for each player and ₹1.5 lakh for each member of the support staff.
