Indian hockey eves lose 0-2 to Gr Britain in opening match

The Indian women’s hockey team lost to Great Britain 0-2 in the opening game of the 5-match Test series here. The match started at a brisk pace for India as they won a penalty corner in the seventh minute but the opportunity went abegging as Anuradha mishit a rebound.

The Indian women kept pressing through the first quarter and Vandana’s deflection went into the opposition goal but the referee disallowed it, ruling instead against the visiting side for dangerous play. The second quarter also saw the Indian women pressing hard as Ritu almost gave India the lead but her shot was saved by the British goalkeeper. Great Britain too had a very good opportunity in the second quarter but could not the penalty corner. At half time the match was poised at 0-0. In the third quarter, Great Britain took the lead with Ellie Rayar scoring in the 38th minute. The third quarter was completely dominated by Great Britain.

The fourth quarter saw Indian women trying to make an impact on the match, but that was not to be as Great Britain scored their second goal with three minutes remaining on the clock. Ellie Rayar struck her second goal of the match via a penalty corner.