FIH 2022 Women's World Cup: Wasteful India loses 3-4 to New Zealand 

    The Indian women's hockey lost to New Zealand 4-3 in a Pool B match of the FIH Hockey Women's World Cup at Wagener Hockey Stadium in Amstelveen, Netherlands, on July 7

     

    Udita of India during the FIH Hockey Women's World Cup 2022 match between India and New Zealand at the Wagener Hockey Stadium Udita of India during the FIH Hockey Women's World Cup 2022 match between India and New Zealand at the Wagener Hockey Stadium

    The Pool B match got off to a fascinating start as New Zealand secured their place at the top of Group B. Within the regulation time, Merry Olivia in the 11th and 53rd minutes, Jopp Tessa in the 28th minute and Davies Frances in the 31st minute scored for New Zealand. In contrast, Katariya Vandana in the 3rd minute, Lalremsiami in the 43rd minute and Kaur Gurjit in the 58th minute were the goalscorers for the Indian squad.

    Indian forward Katariya Vandana slotted the ball into the net after receiving a well-placed pass from Lalremsiam just three minutes into the game to give the Indian squad an early lead. They took charge of the match to push for a second, but Olivia Merry got a penalty corner to give the Blacksticks some control. She took the shots to equalize the score. Jopp Tessa added another with just three minutes left in the first half to give New Zealand a 2-1 lead.

    New Zealand did not take long to find their rhythm in the second half as Frances Davies fired the ball into the net with an excellent penalty corner flick to make it 3-1. The Indian side burst into action and got several penalty corners. However, Gurjit Kaur failed to break past the New Zealand goalkeeper Brooke Roberts. 

    New Zealand lost a player when Davey Tarryn got a green card in the 42nd minute. India took advantage as Lalremsiami narrowed the deficit to 3-2 with a beautiful tip-in. The Indian squad launched a barrage of attacks and won 12 penalty corners in the final quarter, but the New Zealand defence held firm to keep their narrow lead. Both squads scored one goal each in the fourth quarter. New Zealand emerged victorious with a score of 4-3 as the final whistle rang.

    In a post-match interview, Brooke Roberts said, "I am so thrilled how the girls in front of me fought through. Now we can have a bit more rest. It means so much to our coaches and our players. We took every game right to the end. We came here and played many friendlies in the build-up, so we were very well prepared.

    India will lock horns with Spain for a quarter-final spot in a crossover match on July 10.

     

     

     

     

     

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