India’s senior women’s hockey team suffered a 1-2 defeat to New Zealand on Monday in their second match of the New Zealand tour. India’s women’s hockey team, under the captaincy of Rani Rampal, had kicked off the new Zealand tour with a 4-0 win over the developmental squad of New Zealand.
The New Zealand team started the match on the attacking note and was rewarded for their play as they were put ahead in the third minute of the match by scoring through a penalty to take a 1-0 lead. Megan Hull scored this goal for the host team. However, India soon made a comeback into the match as Salima Tete leveled the score 1-1 by scoring on a penalty corner in the final minutes of the first quarter.
The Indian team then went on to hold the hosts in the third and more of the fourth quarter as the scores remained level at 1-1. However, the Indian defense faltered in the final 15 minutes to hand the hosts a penalty corner. Megan Hull was once again up to the task as she made no mistake to put the goal past Indian custodian.
After the match, a disappointed Indian coach Sjoerd Marijne said that New Zealand was stronger and although India did not start well, they played well after the first half. The coach further added that they created eight shots on goal and four penalty corners, and he is happy to see that the team is definitely working on being more effective in the coming matches.
The third match between India and New Zealand women’s hockey team will be played on January 29 following which India’s women’s hockey team will play the only match from Great Britain on February 4.
This match between India and Great Britain team under the captaincy of Rani Rampal will also be played in Auckland. At the same time, the fourth and final match against the host team will be held on Wednesday 5 February. After this match, India’s women’s team will visit China in March.
