Udita emerges as new penalty corner specialist for Indian women's team

Ranchi: Playing in her 100th match in national colours, Udita Duhan made the occasion count by scoring two past the Italian defence to keep India's 2024 Paris Olympics qualification hope alive.

"It is a great feeling to complete 100 matches for India and I am proud to come all the way here. There have been ups and downs but that is what has made this journey worthwhile. Playing such a special game in front of your home crowd is the cherry on top," said Udita after the match, who was also adjudged player of the match.

Udita, who plays primarily as a defender, has emerged as a worthy option for India to score from the penalty corner in the absence of drag flickers Gurjit Kaur and Deep Grace Ekka.

"I have been taking penalty corners for long but my primary skill has been slapping the ball. Earlier, we had drag flickers but now we don't have one and Deepika was not on the pitch," Udita said.

"We also analyse how the opponent is defending and that is how we plan whether to go with the slap or the drag-flick," she added.

After India failed to score from seven penalty corners in the first game against the USA resulting in a shock defeat, coach Janneke Schopman turned to Udita for the crucial next game against New Zealand.

Udita obliged with an important goal in the game against the Black Sticks and doubled her contribution against Italy.

Talking about Udita and her PC skills, coach Schopman said, "Udita is a very good option as she knows where the space is while the defence runs at her. Deep Grace Ekka was our other slapper but in her absence, Udita has done brilliantly as she trusts her skill and so do I."

The 26-year-old from Haryana has been an integral member of the Indian women's team since her debut in 2017 and was a part of the Indian team that finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. She was also key to India's medal-winning displays at the Commonwealth Games in 2022 and the Asian Games in 2023.

Talking about the forthcoming FIH Olympic Qualifier semifinal against higher-ranked Germany, Udita said, "No, I don't think there is any pressure. We will try our best despite the players available or not available."

India will play Germany on January 18 in the last four of the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers in Ranchi in pursuit of a spot in the mega event, to be held in July-August later this year.