India punch above their weight

London, July 21 

India produced an impressive display before conceding a late goal to play out a 1-1 draw against world No. 2 England in their opening match at the women’s hockey World Cup here today. Neha Goyal gave India the lead in the 25th minute before Lily Owsley equalised from a penalty corner in the 54th minute.

World No. 10 India punched above their weight and gave England a run for their money in the keenly-contested duel. India matched the higher-ranked England in the opening two quarters, even though the hosts had more scoring chances with five penalty corners coming their way. But the Indian defence was up to the mark with goalkeeper Savita Punia stealing the limelight with some brilliant saves. While India looked promising in open play, the home team kept on earning penalty corners.

England earned their first penalty corner inside 32 seconds of the game and another in the eighth minute but the Indian defence kept a tight vigil to thwart the persistent attacks. 

Savita shines 

England earned two more penalty corners in the second quarter but, on both occasions, Savita showed great reflexes under the bar to keep the danger away.  The Indians, on the other hand, caught the English defence off guard on more than one occasion from open play. On one such occasion, India broke the deadlock in the 25th minute through Neha Goyal, who found herself at the right place at the right time to direct the ball into the net.

The Indians showed great character to go into the halfway break with a one goal advantage. They managed to hold on to their lead in the third quarter with impressive composure. 

Trailing by a goal, England attacked in numbers in the final quarter in search of the equaliser but the Indians defended well and kept control over the proceedings. In the 48th minute, England secured another penalty corner but once again the Indian defence stood tall to thwart the danger.

Five minutes later, England were awarded another set piece and this time they utilised the opportunity to draw level. Though goalkeeper Savita blocked the initial attempt, Owsley found the target from the rebound as the Indian defenders failed to clear the ball. It was a much-improved performance from the Indians considering the fact that they were hammered 6-0 by England in the bronze-medal match at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games earlier this year. Interestingly, India had registered a 2-1 come-from-behind win over the same English side in the group stage of the Commonwealth Games. India will play Ireland in their next match on July 26. — PTI

Junior men hold Netherlands to 2-2 draw

Antwerp: The Indian junior men’s hockey team came back from 0-2 down to hold the Netherlands 2-2 in a hard-fought encounter at the U-23 Five Nations Tournament here today. The Netherlands left the visitors stunned when they sounded the board in the very first minute. As if it wasn’t bad enough, the hosts scored again in the 11th minute. India, however, clawed back into the game in the second quarter. While the team’s defence held strong, the Indian attackers worked on creating scoring opportunities.  The team’s first breakthrough came in the 27th minute when Mandeep Mor scored a splendid goal to narrow down the deficit to 1-2. After a goalless third quarter, the Indian team pushed for goals in the final quarter and their relentless efforts saw Mor scoring the equaliser in the 48th minute. — PTI

India beat NZ, take unassailable 2-0 lead 

Bengaluru: The Indian men’s hockey team registered its second successive victory against New Zealand, beating the visitors 3-1 to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match Test series here today. India began the opening quarter with a structured attack. They won two penalty corners in this quarter but failed to convert them. In the second quarter, India won three back-to-back PCs in the 18th minute and Rupinder Pal Singh managed to covert the third. A minute later, experienced forward Sunil fetched India another PC but the variation did not work this time. In the 24th minute, Stephen Jenness caught the Indian defence off guard when he pierced through the striking circle, dodged goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, and put the ball into the goal for an equaliser. India responded with a splendid field goal in the 27th minute through Sunil. In the 56th minute, Sunil gave a brilliant pass from the right flank to Mandeep Singh, who swiftly deflected it into the goal, giving India a 3-1 lead. — PTI