India fight harder but win remains elusive

Pukekohe (New  Zealand), May 17 

The Indian women's hockey team fought hard before going down 2-3 to New Zealand in the third game of the five-match series. The hosts now lead the series 3-0.

After suffering a 2-8 loss in their previous game, the Indian women came out strongly in the third game. They showed better coordination in both attack and defence, and their long drives and short passes were more precise. The relentless pressure they exerted over the hosts yielded result in the ninth minute when Deep Grace Ekka converted a penalty corner.

The Kiwis, however, recovered quickly and found the equaliser four minute later with Ella Gunson converting a penalty stroke. In the 15th minute, Deanna Ritchie outsmarted the Indian defenders and scored a field goal. 

The Indian girls got two opportunities in the form of two back-to-back penalty corners in the 26th minute to score an equaliser but the Kiwi goalkeeper thwarted both the attempts. Rani, the Indian skipper, created quite a few opportunities but she found the Kiwi goalkeeper up to the scratch every time she took a cracking shot at the goal. 

In the 39th minute, the Kiwis scored for the third time, dealing a big blow to India's hopes of pulling off a win. The Kiwi forwards put the Indian defence under a lot of pressure in the third quarter but Indian goalkeeper Savita Punia stood firm and made several saves. Unlike in the second match, in which India conceded four goals in the last 10 minutes, the Indian defence showed a lot more resilience in this game and didn't allow the hosts to score in the 

last 20 minutes. 

On the flip side, though, the Indian girls managed to find just one goal in this period to go down 2-3. They earned a penalty corner in the 59th minute, and a clever interchange between Rani and Monika saw the latter score India’s second goal. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to save the match and the series. — PTI

Sunita plays her 100th match for India

Defender Sunita Lakra reached the milestone of playing 100 International matches on Wednesday. Sunita made her international debut in 2009 and has since been an integral part of the Indian team. Born in Odisha, Sunita rose through the ranks to become the lynchpin of the Indian defence. The highlights of her career have been her performances in the 17th Asian Games, Rio Olympics and the fourth Asian Champions Trophy.