India women fail to reach the FIH Hockey World Cup quarterfinals after losing against Spain

The opening quarter of the high stake match started with Spain and India in a tight contest to take control of the game. India began aggressively in the early minutes but failed to break past the Spanish defense. Soon after, Spain went aggressive as they looked for a way to reach the Indian circle. However, the Indian goalkeeper held firm to deny Spain the opening goal, again and again, showing why she is known as one of the best international goalkeepers. The first quarter ended without any goals scored.

Spain attempted to build pressure in the second quarter and launched a barrage of attacks on the Indian goal. Savita put forth an excellent display of goalkeeping brilliance as she made three consecutive saves. First from a penalty corner flick and rebound shot from Xantal Gine and then on another rebound from Begona Garcia. India got a penalty corner just seconds later. Monika took the shot, but Melanie Garcia held firm to deny her the opener. She rushed toward the rebound, but Lucia Jimenez calmly cleared it away.

India got an opportunity to move ahead in the ending minutes of the first half when Tete Salima made a run along the baseline and passed the ball to Katariya Vandana. She tried to chip it over Melanie Garcia., but it went over the crossbar. The first half ended goalless as the tensions started to rise.  

The balance of control kept shifting throughout the second half as both sides looked frustrated and started making more and more mistakes. As the final quarter began, it looked clear that just one goal could make a difference. Both sides created several opportunities early in the fourth quarter but failed to break past each other’s formidable defensive walls.

Spain finally got a breakthrough with just four minutes left on the clock. Begona Garcia sent a long pass to Marta Segu, who passed it to Clara Ycart. She took the shot, but Savita parried it away. However, Marta Segu rushed towards the rebound and quickly slotted it into the net to give the home side a 1-0 lead. The Spanish defense held firm as the Indian side looked for an equalizer to send the match into a shootout until the final whistle rang.

In a post-match interview, Georgina Oliva said, “We kept focused with our plan all the time. We tried to play our game all the time. We concentrate on our midfield. Having all these fans and this atmosphere makes it great to play here".

India will next lock horns with Cannada in a battle for the 9th to 12th place on July 11, while Spain advanced to the quarterfinals with the victory and is set to face Australia.