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Journalism of Courage
India recorded a commanding 3-1 victory over Wales in their 9/16 qualification match at FIH Junior Women’s World Cup match at the Centro Deportivo de Hockey Césped, Estadio Nacional, Santiago, on Monday. Hina Bano (14’), Sunelita Toppo (24’), and Ishika (31’) scored for India, while Eloise Moat (52’) netted the lone goal for Wales.
India began the game on the front foot, asserting themselves on the opposition with a Penalty Corner in the first 30 seconds. They played between the lines to create opportunities regularly, but couldn’t find the opening goal early on. Wales had the opportunity to get their noses in front with a penalty stroke, but were denied by Nidhi as she made a sharp stop to keep the scores level. India eventually managed to break the deadlock towards the end of the first quarter, courtesy a tap-in from Hina, after some neat work by Sakshi Rana. With that goal, Hina is now the joint-second goalscorer in the tournament, tied on 5 goals with quite a few other players, while the Netherlands’ Noor van den Nieuwehnhof is at the top with 7.
Looking to double their advantage, India maintained the pressure with another Penalty Corner at the start of the second quarter. They continued to create chances regularly and were rewarded for their persistence, doubling their lead after Sakshi Rana’s initial shot fell into the way of Sunelita, who made no mistake from close range. With 14 circle penetrations in the first half, India held a deserving 2-0 lead at the break.
India extended their lead to 3-0 early in the second half as Ishika found the back of the net after a rebound from the Welsh goalkeeper fell her way. Jyoti Singh’s side controlled the tempo of the game, stretching the Welsh defense by playing between the lines and pressing high. They continued to create chances, pushing Wales back in their own half to close out the third quarter.
With the lion’s share of possession, India remained in pursuit of more goalscoring opportunities to further increase their advantage in the final quarter. Wales had an opening on the other end and Moat (52’) made it count, pulling one back for her side. However, that only proved to be a consolation goal as India held firm to secure a well-deserved 3-1 win.
India will next play Uruguay on 9th December.
Earlier, despite winning two matches out of three in their group to reach six points with an impressive goal difference of 15, India missed out on a place in the quarterfinals as their defeat against Germany proved costly. While India finished with two big wins, two other groups had teams unbeaten from three matches to reach seven points. In a 24-team tournament, expanded to this number for the first time, six pool winners gain automatic qualification for quarterfinals. The remaining two spots were reserved for two best second-placed teams which went to Argentina and England.
