Barcelona (Spain), July 26 Indian women's hockey team came from behind to record a thrilling 1-1 draw against England in their opening game of the 100th Anniversary Spanish Hockey Federation - International Tournament, here on Wednesday.
For India, Lalremsiami (41') scored a goal, while Holly Hunt (7') was the goal-scorer for England.
The game began with England quickly settling into a passing rhythm while controlling the majority of possession, and it paid off when Holly Hunt (7') scored a field goal with a powerful and well-placed shot from inside the D to give her team the lead.
Following that, India upped the ante in search of an equaliser, repeatedly testing England's defence and even coming close to scoring on multiple occasions, but were unable to find the back of the net as the first quarter ended with England leading 1-0.
India increased the frequency of their attacks in an attempt to level the score in the second quarter, forcing England's midfielders to make back passes and maintain possession. Interestingly, the strategy assisted England in neutralising the Indian team's attack, allowing them to maintain their 1-0 lead at the half-time break.
To capitalise on their lead, England launched a strong offensive push in the third quarter, earning the game's first penalty corner. They were, however, unable to capitalise on this opportunity. Meanwhile, India remained determined to equalise and switched to a counter-attacking strategy.
The smart game plan paid off when Lalremsiami (41') converted a penalty corner to help India get back into the game. Both India and England won multiple penalty corners in the dying minutes of the third quarter but both teams were unable to make the most of the opportunities as the third quarter ended with the score tied at 1-1.
After scoring the equaliser, India came out all guns blazing in the fourth and final quarter and kept England under pressure by attacking rigorously. However, England kept their defence tight and also won a penalty corner in the closing minutes of the match but failed to take advantage of it. The final quarter didn’t witness a single goal as the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
Notably, young Indian midfielder Jyoti Chhatri, who was recently part of the Junior Asia Cup 2023 winning team, made her senior team debut.
--IANS
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