Indian Women’s Hockey Team ends tour on a high with 1-0 win against Australia

NEW DELHI: The Indian Women’s Hockey Team enjoyed a 1-0 victory over Australia in the fifth and final game of their Australia tour, at the Perth Hockey Stadium on Sunday.

Navneet Kaur (21′) scored the only goal of the match to ensure India ended the series on a strong note, as per a press release from Hockey India.

In the first quarter, Australia dominated the play and won two penalty corners but India’s resilient defence denied them the opening goal. Six minutes into the second quarter, India clinched the lead courtesy of a field goal from Vice Captain Navneet Kaur.

It was a cagey affair in the second half with both teams eyeing to score a goal but India held their composure at the back and successfully defended their slim lead. In the final quarter, Australia received a crucial penalty corner, however, they squandered the chance to equalise and handed over the victory to the visitors.

After two losses against the Australia A side and two losses against the senior team, India bounced back well in the series with a positive win over the hosts on the final day.

In their previous match, India was edged out 2-3 by Australia senior side. Navneet Kaur (35′) and Lalremsiami (59′) were the scorers for India, while Australia struck through Grace Stewart (2′), Jade Smith (36′), and Greta Hayes (42′) to edge a closely contested encounter.

Before that, India fell 0-2 to Australia’s senior side. Courtney Schonell (9′) opened the scoring for the hosts in the first quarter, before Grace Stewart (52′) added a second in the final phase to seal the result.

In the matches against Australia A, Indian side faced 3-5 and 2-3 losses.

Before this tour, the Indian team last competed in the FIH Hockey Pro League (Women) at home, where they registered two wins and one shootout victory in a mixed campaign. They ended the tournament on a high, clinching a bonus point against World No. 1 Netherlands in a thrilling shootout after a 2-2 draw across regulation time. (ANI)