In safe hands: Savita stands tall in shootout as India beat Oranje
bhubaneswar: The Indian women’s hockey team on Tuesday stunned reigning Olympics champions and world No. 1 Netherlands in shootout after the two sides were locked 2-2 in regulation time to end their home leg of the FIH Pro League on a winning note here.
Pien Sanders (17th minute) and Fay van der Elst (28th) had given Netherlands a 2-0 lead at halftime but India made a strong comeback to restore parity through stunning goals from Deepika (35th) and Baljeet Kaur (43rd).
In the shootout, Deepika and Mumtaz Khan found the target for India while Marijn Veen was the lone scorer for Netherlands, who are also the defending champions.
Veteran India goalkeeper Savita Punia made four crucial saves to play a major role in the team’s victory. The home team had lost to the same opponents 2-4 in the first leg on Monday.
In the eight matches played in the home leg from February 15, India won three, including Tuesday’s, and lost five, including one in the shootout.
With a bonus point from the shootout win, the Indian team is currently at the fifth spot in the Pro League table with 12 points from seven matches, with England at the top with 16 points from seven games.
Men exact revenge
Skipper Harmanpreet Singh led from the front with two goals as India bounced back in style to beat England 2-1 and end the home leg of the Pro League on a positive note.
In the first leg on Monday, the Indian team went down 2-3 to England in a thriller.
However, the hosts made a strong comeback to emerge victorious in the concluding home leg game at the Kalinga Stadium. Harmanpreet scored in the 26th and 32nd minutes, while Conor Williamson was on target for England in the 30th minute. The first quarter remained goalless even though India tried their best to breach the English defence. India got the lead when Harmanpreet converted a penalty corner in the second quarter before Williamson restored parity with his strike to head into the third period with the two teams locked at 1-1.
