India women earn first win of Spanish tour
MADRID: Skipper Rani Rampal scored a late winner as Indian women’s hockey team dished out a spirited performance to beat Spain 3-2 in the third game and register their first win of the fivematch series at the Consejo Superior de Deportes Hockey Stadium here.
By virtue of this win late last night, India and Spain are now tied 1-1 in the series. While Spain beat India 3-0 in the opener, the second game finished 1-1.
In last night’s game, Spain took an early lead through Maria Lopez’s strike from their second penalty corner in the third minute.
The hosts continued to test the Indian defence in the first quarter and goalkeeper Savita was called into action soon when she made a fine reflex save to deny Spain.
India started to get into the game in the second quarter as both teams battled for possession.
The visitors defended well, keeping out Spain’s third penalty corner in the 19th minute.
World No.10 India made some good forays in the closing stages of the quarter, forcing Spanish goalkeeper Melanie Garcia to make a fine save in the 25th minute.
The Indians kept up the pressure on the Spanish defence and won a penalty corner which was converted by Gurjit Kaur (28th) as both teams went into the halfway break tied at 1-1.
India started on a bright note after the change of ends and produced a great move to score a well constructed field goal through young striker Lalremsiami in the 32nd minute.
Forward Vandana Katariya also got an open chance in the 42nd minute but could not score.
A tense final few moments of the match saw the hosts put the Indian defence under constant pressure, winning two penalty corners, the first of which was saved by goalkeeper Savita.
However, Spain’s Lola Riera continued her fine goal-scoring form and remained calm under pressure to convert the next penalty corner in the 58th minute and level the scores.
But just when it looked the two teams are set to share the spoils, India captain Rani scored a wonderful field goal just a minute from the final hooter to hand the visitors a well deserved win.
The two sides will play two more games to conclude the tour.
VANDANA HITS 200-CAP MILESTONE
MADRID : The Indian women’s hockey team’s third match vs Spain saw forward Vandana Katariya touch the 200-international cap milestone.
The 26-year-old has been an essential part of the Indian team since making her debut in 2009, aged just 17, at the Champions Challenge in Kazan.
LAKRA POSITIVE ABOUT CHAMPIONS TROPHY
BANGALORE: With the Indian men’s hockey team preparing to leave for the Champions Trophy in Breda next week, chief coach Harendra Singh tested his players with two back-to-back practice matches here.
“Playing these two matches at the same time as our first two matches at the Champions Trophy is critical in terms of adjusting to the tournament match timings,” said Birendra Lakra.
“We play Pakistan on the first day followed by second match on the next day against Argentina. By playing these two matches against the team of rest of the players in the camp, our bodies will get used to playing high intensity matches and also help us take the work load of playing back-to-back matches.”