India vs South Africa Hockey World Cup Live Score: The Indian team is playing its second game at the World Cup. (Hockey India)

Sunelita Toppo, Navneet Kaur and Sushila Chanu have scored a goal each to give India a 3-0 lead at the end of the first half against South Africa in the Women’s Hockey World Cup. The Indian women’s hockey, chasing a top-two finish in Pool D after holding Olympic silver medallists and world No. 4 China to a draw, are facing the 18th-ranked South Africa today.

England currently lead Pool D following their 4-0 win over South Africa, with China and India next in the standings, while South Africa are fourth. A win over South Africa can boost India’s chances. As per the tournament format, for the semifinal race the top two teams from each pool will be divided into two groups (E and F) of four teams each. Each team will play matches against the opponents they did not face in the first round.

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“We don’t have to worry about the other teams’ positions, but we need to maintain this momentum in the upcoming matches while avoiding complacency,” coach Sjoerd Marijne said after the China game. India showed plenty of promise in their opening match. Drag-flicker Deepika converted a penalty corner and also earned another, while World Cup debutants Sunelita Toppo, Ishika and Shilpi Dabas displayed composure well beyond their experience. Navneet Kaur, who was named Player of the Tournament at the World Cup Qualifiers, has also carried her impressive form into the tournament and will be one of India’s key attacking threats.

The Indian team’s best finish at the World Cup came at the inaugural edition in 1974, when they finished fourth under captain Ajinder Kaur. Their fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics under Marijne had raised hopes of another strong showing on the global stage.

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Making of Navneet Kaur: From a cricket-loving home to India’s World Cup spark

If Navneet Kaur had grown up anywhere other than Shahbad, she might never have become a hockey player.

Cricket dominated her home. Her father was an avid follower of the sport, and one of her earliest sporting idols was India’s captain, Harmanpreet Kaur. But growing up in Shahbad — the small Haryana town that has produced an assembly line of international hockey players — made a different future almost inevitable.

In Shahbad, hockey isn’t a sport children discover. It’s the sport that finds them. “My father wanted me to play cricket; he likes the sport a lot. But where I grew up in Shahbad, everyone played hockey. I thought, ‘Okay, there’s no cricket here, but if you want to go into sports, then try hockey’,” Navneet told from Amsterdam.

She had another, more compelling reason: coach Baldev Singh, who was conferred the Padma Shri this year. “He has created many excellent international players. So that’s why I started playing hockey,” she said.

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