The Indian Women’s Hockey Team lost 2-3 to China in a closely-fought match here on Sunday.
For India, Navneet Kaur (24′, 45′) scored a double while Chen Jiali (9′), Zhong Jiaqi (45′) and Xu Yanan (51′) scored in China’s win.
Both teams got off the blocks swiftly in the first quarter. It was India who attacked aggressively and earned a PC in the third minute but was saved by strong Chinese defence. Only a few minutes later, an infringement while defending saw India concede a penalty stroke. China capitalized on the chance and scored their first goal in the 9th minute. The next few minutes saw both the teams trade PCs but neither could convert from the chances, the Hockey India sources said.
India began the second quarter on a positive note. A well-executed attack saw them win back-to-back PCs. Though the team could not convert from these chances, a fierce attack in the 24th minute saw Navneet Kaur score a fine field goal. The equaliser put India in good stead.
India’s next big opportunity came in the 45th minute when an in-form Navneet scored her second goal to fetch India a much-needed 2-1 lead. However, it was short-lived as China were quick to equalise with a PC through Zhong Jiaqi.
They further grabbed the 3-2 lead when Xu Yanan scored in the 51st minute. Though India found a few chances in the dying minute of the game, they were unable to beat Chinese defence.
India will next take on Germany in back-to-back matches on July 18 and 19 at 2100hrs IST.
