Perth, May 3
The Indian women's hockey team put up a spirited fight but fell short following a 2-3 defeat to Australia in the fourth game of their Australia tour, at the Perth Hockey Stadium on Saturday.
Navneet Kaur (35') and Lalremsiami (59') were the scorers for India, while Australia struck through Grace Stewart (2'), Jade Smith (36'), and Greta Hayes (42') in the nail-biting encounter.
Australia drew first blood to take a 1-0 lead in the first quarter. The breakthrough came as early as the second minute when Grace Stewart found the back of the net. India worked hard to level the score in the remainder of the quarter but could not find the equaliser.
In the second quarter, India successfully defended an early penalty corner and withstood another set-piece threat late in the period, keeping the deficit to a single goal at halftime.
India fought their way back into the contest in the third quarter, when Navneet successfully converted a penalty corner in the 35th minute to level the scores. The respite was brief as Australia responded immediately with Jade Smith's field goal giving them the lead in the 36th minute. Australia won two more penalty corners before Greta Hayes' 42nd-minute goal extended their lead again.
India reduced the margin in the final quarter when Lalremsiami found the net late in the game, but Australia kept the Indian attack at bay to secure victory.
On Thursday, the Indian women's hockey team showed plenty of fight but lost 0-2 in the third game of their tour of Australia. Courtney Schonell (9') opened the scoring for the hosts in the first quarter, before Grace Stewart (52') added a second in the final phase to seal the result. Following two encounters with Australia A, this was India's first clash against the Australian team.
— ANI
Reader Comments
What a thrilling match! The girls showed real grit against world-class opponents. Navneet and Lalremsiami's goals were brilliant. We're getting closer to beating top teams consistently 💪👠#ProudOfOurTeam
The defense needs work - conceding in just 2 minutes is unacceptable at this level. But the fighting spirit in the 2nd half was commendable. Coach must focus on penalty corner conversions.
So close yet so far! My heart was racing in the final minutes 😅 These exhibition matches against Australia are gold for our team's development. The experience will pay off in major tournaments.
Remember when our women's team used to lose by 5-6 goals to top teams? Look how far we've come! This 2-3 loss shows tremendous progress. More investment in grassroots hockey please!
Lalremsiami is becoming our clutch player! Her late goal gave me hope. But we need to stop conceding immediately after scoring - that's been a pattern in recent matches.
The girls deserve as much attention as cricket team gets. They're bringing glory to India with limited resources. When will we see women's hockey matches broadcasted properly on TV?
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