Savita & Co fail to crack Chinese code in opener

Bhubaneswar, February 3

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The Indian women’s hockey team’s jinx against China continued with the home team going down 1-2 in their Hockey Pro League match here today.

Vandana Katariya (15th minute) scored the opening goal of the match but Wen Dan (40th) and Bingfeng Gu (52nd) completed a comeback win for China.

The Chinese had thrashed India 5-1 in the opening game of the Hangzhou Asian Games last year and beat them 4-0 in the semifinals of the continental showpiece.

India tried to dictate the tempo in the initial phase with quick passes but failed to create any significant goal threats. China got the first opportunity to score in the opening quarter following a miscued clearance from India goalkeeper Savita Punia, but the visitors failed to capitalise. Both teams failed to create any significant openings in the second quarter and the first half ended in India’s favour.

With five minutes to go in the third quarter, China’s Jiaqi Zhong dodged past a couple of Indian defenders and passed the ball to Dan who dinked it over Savita to level the scores terms.

China shifted gears in the last quarter, pegging India back into their half and eventually earning a penalty corner. After four replays, Gu pounced on a rebound and slapped the ball into the goal to give China the lead.