IMAGE: The Indian women’s hockey team. Photograph: Kind courtesy, Udhay Stalin/Twitter
The Indian women’s hockey team produced a dominant performance to comfortably beat hosts Spain 3-0 and win the 100th Anniversary Spanish Hockey Federation – International Tournament in Barcelona, on Sunday.
Vandana Katariya (22nd minute), Monika (48th) and Udita (58th) were the goal scorers as India remained unbeaten in the tournament. Riding on the success of Saturday’s match against England, where Lalremsiami’s hattrick helped them win 3-0, table-toppers India got off to a strong start in the first quarter.
The Indians maintained a disciplined structure with short, accurate passes that allowed them to create space in the circle, but goals eluded the visitors in the first quarter.
Spain created some fine opportunities in the last five minutes of the first quarter but India’s captain and goalkeeper Savita produced some fine saves to keep the opponents at bay.
India started the second quarter in a dominant fashion, showing clear intent to take the lead. They built on a strong attack, with Sushila setting up a fine field goal opportunity in the 22nd minute.
She assisted Neha Goyal with a swift pass in the top of the circle, but Neha’s shot bounced off the Spanish goalie Clara Perez’s pads. Lalremsiami, the star of the match against England, picked up the rebound and smashed it past the goalie and Vandana was perfectly positioned to get a slight touch to push the ball past the goal-line.
The lead gave India a confident edge, allowing them to make confident forays into the striking circle. They mounted pressure on Spain by dominating ball possession in the following minutes.
India extended the lead in the 48th minute when Monika converted a penalty corner past Maria Ruiz, who had replaced Perez under the Spanish bar.
With a 2-0 lead, India defended stoutly. Deep Grace Ekka, Nikki Pradhan and Sushila Chanu kept the Spanish attack in check while the forwards pushed for a third goal.
The opportunity came knocking two minutes from the final hooter when a confident Udita showed patience, coupled with good dribbling skills, to find the back of the net.
Indian men’s hockey team finish third…
The Indian men’s hockey team notched up a 2-1 win over reigning FIH Hockey Pro League champions Netherlands 2-1 in the third-fourth placing match at the same tournament on Sunday.
With all the goals coming from penalty corners, captain Harmanpreet Singh (15th) and Dilpreet Singh (50th) scored in India’s hard-fought victory, while Thierry Brinkman (25th) scored the lone goal for the Dutch side.
India got off to a cautious start, not allowing the Dutch to make easy forays into the striking circle. The team’s forwards, on the other hand, stitched together a clever strategy that forced the Dutch defenders to make errors.
The tactic worked when India managed their first penalty corner with just 30 seconds left for the first hooter. In-form Indian skipper Harmanpreet, who had to re-take the drag flick after the first attempt was stopped by the Netherlands’ first rusher, was on target fetching his team a crucial 1-0 lead in the 15th minute.
The following quarter saw the Netherlands bounce back when Brinkman converted a well-executed penalty corner in the 25th minute. The equaliser did not deter the Indian team as it remained determined in its pursuit to end the campaign on a winning note.
While no goals were netted in the third quarter, there were some tense moments in the fourth quarter when the match looked like it would go into a penalty shootout.
While the Netherlands squandered a few opportunities to score, the Indian side did well to hold its nerves and convert from a penalty corner in the 50th minute.
While Amit Rohidas’ drag was padded away by the Dutch goalie Mauritis Visser, India’s fearless striker Dilpreet Singh picked up a fine rebound to push the ball into the post.
The 2-1 lead increased the pressure on the Dutch side who looked for ways to score an equaliser. In the final moments, they were successful in earning back-to-back penalty corners but India did well to defend their score and finish on a winning note.
The Indian team will arrive in Chennai early Tuesday morning to play the much-awaited Asian Champions Trophy starting August 3 at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium.
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