Jr Women’s world cup: Anticlimactic ending for India in German thriller
Santiago (Chile), December 1
India squandered a two-goal advantage to go down 3-4 to last edition’s runners-up Germany in a thrilling FIH Women’s Junior World Cup match here on Thursday.
Annu (11th minute), Ropni Kumari (14th) and Mumtaz Khan (24th) were the goalscorers for India, while Sophia Schwabe (17th), Laura Pluth (21th, 36th), and Carolin Seidel’s (38’) scored for Germany in a Pool C match.
India quickly settled into a passing rhythm, dominating the game in the opening quarter by controlling possession and continuously testing Germany. Despite their early efforts, India were thwarted by Germany’s sturdy defence, which prevented them from scoring until the closing minutes of the quarter.
It was during this period of sustained pressure that the Indian team secured consecutive penalty corners, with Annu capitalising on the second opportunity with a powerful shot and giving them the lead. Ropni made it 2-0 after she found the net with a well-executed shot from another penalty corner.
Germany approached the second quarter with renewed zeal. Their efforts bore fruit as Sophia scored an impressive field goal. Building on the momentum, Laura fired a powerful strike to level the scores. However, India swiftly responded as Mumtaz skilfully put the ball past the opposition’s goalkeeper as they headed into the halftime with a 3-2 lead.
After the break, India looked to keep possession but the strategy backfired as Laura scored for the second time. Motivated by their resurgence, Germany intensified their attacks, seizing the lead through Carolin, who scored from a penalty corner.
India came close to equalising in the third and fourth quarters but the Germans managed to held on for a win.
“We had such a bad start to the tournament and are proud of how we bounced back today to win against a strong Indian side. Hopefully, we will be able to advance to the knockout stages,” said Laura, who was named the Player of the Match.
In other results on Day 2, Australia cruised to a 2-0 win over Chile, while Netherlands thrashed South Africa 6-0 in Pool A. Belgium beat Canada 8-0 in Pool B. In Pool D, England won 5-0 over New Zealand, while USA edged Japan 2-1.
