India women lose to Oz, to play for bronze

The Indian women’s hockey team failed to capitalise on two goal-scoring chances in the dying minutes to suffer a 0-1 defeat at the hands of triple defending champions Australia in the semi-finals.

Desperate to neutralise the Grace Stewart strike in the third quarter, India coach Harendra Singh recalled goalkeeper Savita Punia when only four minutes were left but the players could not cash in on the chances that came their way.

Navneet missed a sitter from a Monika cross from the right flank while Rani could not slam in a through pass form Vanadana Kataria. India will now clash with England for bronze.

The play was mostly restricted to India’s half with Australia dominating the contest with high ball possession.

MEN EYE FINAL SLOT

Invincible so far, a determined men’s hockey team will continue its quest for the elusive gold when they take on New Zealand in the semi-final on Friday.

The Manpreet Singh-led side was held to a draw by Pakistan in their opening Pool B match last week, while they notched up 4-3 win over Wales and a 2-1 victory against Malaysia in the following matches, before outwitting England 4-3 on Wednesday.

“Against New Zealand, we don’t want to focus too much on what they bring to the table, but we want to focus on our own strengths and ensure we fight till the last whistle,” said skipper Manpreet Singh.

India will also be riding on their successful outing in their recent New Zealand Tour in January this year where they beat the home team twice in the twoleg Four Nations Tournament.

“We have played them recently and are aware of their game as much as they are aware of ours,” said Manpreet.

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