India vs China (Pic credit: FIH)
4 side to a 2-2 draw at Wagener Hockey Stadium in Amstelveen.
The Indian women’s hockey team’s recent record against China made the Paris Olympics silver medallists formidable opponents even before the World Cup opener began. But India produced a spirited display on Sunday to hold the world No.
4 team from the very beginning. It proved to be a costly miss as China, playing a 4-4-2 formation, stepped up the pressure in the third quarter.
Speaking during the half-time break, the Dutchman said, “I think we played very disciplined and created opportunities. Taking the lead as early as in the eighth minute through a field goal from Navneet Kaur, India took the fight to the world No. However, China equalised in the dying seconds of the first quarter through a penalty stroke. India did not hold back and continued to attack in the second quarter, winning their second penalty corner, which Deepika converted in the 25th minute. India could have even scored a third within minutes, but Lalremsiami failed to deflect Neha’s pass from close range. Despite some brilliant defending by Nikki Pradhan & Co. and superb saves by Savita, China restored parity when Ning Ma scored from a penalty corner in the 39th minute. In the fourth quarter, India still had opportunities to snatch the win but could not convert them. And that is the thing with these kinds of matches — you have to convert those opportunities into goals.