Perth [Australia], 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.
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