FIH Hockey Pro League: Indian women's team lost to China 1-2

The Indian women's hockey team failed to take advantage of the early lead and lost 1-2 to China in a disappointing start to the Rourkela leg of the FIH Hockey Pro League 2023/24 at the Birsa Munda Stadium here on Monday.

The Indian women's hockey team took the lead thanks to Sangeeta Kumari, but two goals from Gu Bingfeng (14, 53) helped China win the match 2-1.

India took the lead early in the first quarter thanks to an extraordinary cross from forward Vandana Katariya and an equally remarkable finish from Sangeeta Kumari (7).

Both teams kept their momentum going and were awarded several penalty corners, while India were not able to convert any of their three penalty corner opportunities, China made full use of their second as Gu Bingfeng (14) converted the first. The score was tied with a little over a minute left in the quarter.

China had more possession of the ball in the second quarter, but the Indian defense did not allow the Chinese to connect the dots and take the lead. With about 10 minutes left in the second quarter, China got a penalty corner, but Indian captain and goalkeeper Savita made a good save.

The Indian women's hockey team immediately started counter-attacking and got a chance to score on another penalty corner. However, the Chinese defense did not give up and both teams still had one goal each at the end of the half. China were awarded a penalty corner early in the third quarter, but an alert Neha Goyal referral led to the decision being overturned after the ball had hit the shin of Chinese player Huang Haiyan.

India maintained good control of the ball in the third quarter, while the Chinese played deep in their own half to prevent the Indians from breaking into their defence. Neither team was able to find the net in the third quarter and the deadlock continued. Both teams came close to taking the lead on several occasions, but China scored their second goal after being awarded a penalty stroke. Jiu Bingfeng (53) stepped up to take the penalty stroke and made no mistakes.

In the 55th minute, India got two consecutive penalty corners, but the Chinese defense stopped the ball both times. China won the match 2–1, maintaining a slight lead of one goal. The next match of the Indian women's hockey team will be against Netherlands on Wednesday.