Women’s Hockey World Cup: India hold China

Story by  ATV | Posted by  Nakul Shivani • 1 Years ago
Vandana Katariya equalised for India
Vandana Katariya equalised for India

 

Amstelveen

The Indian Women's Hockey Team held China to a 1-1 draw in their second pool B match at the FIH Women's Hockey World Cup on Tuesday.

Jiali Zheng opened the scoring for China in the 26th minute. Vandana Katariya equalized for India in the 45th minute.

In their opening encounter on Sunday, India had held England 1-1, while China had shared points with New Zealand after their match ended 2-2.

It was a tense start to the match with the Chinese dominating the ball possession with a structured attack in the initial minutes of the game but once India shook off their nerves, they made some lethal circle penetrations that could have earned them an early lead.

One such opportunity came in the 6th minute when Sharmila Devi and Navneet Kaur worked in tandem to take a shot on goal. But Navneet's strike was blocked by a strong Chinese defence.

After ending the first quarter in a stalemate, India penetrated the Chinese defence on a number of occasions in the second quarter but somehow did not manage to find the back of the net.

China, however, did not falter when its attackers created a sublime variation that resulted in a goal. It was Jiali Zheng who put the ball past India's experienced goalkeeper Savita in the 26th minute.

The two teams went into the breather with China leading 1-0.

The wait for India to draw parity ended in the 45ht minute with Vandana Katariya scoring off a Penalty Corner rebound.

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India next take on New Zealand in their last pool encounter on Thursday.