Indian women's hockey team's penalty corner woes continued as it fell to its second consecutive defeat at the FIH Pro League, losing 1-3 to the Netherlands in Bhubaneswar on Sunday. (More Hockey News)
Navneet Kaur was on the lone goal-scorer for๊ ⛎India, who were guilty of squandering as many as six penalty corners.
Yibbi Jansen (3rd, 34th minute) and Fa🅰y van der Elst (21st) etched their name on 𝐆the scoresheet for the Netherlands.
India had lost to China on Saturday.
India’s goalkeeper Savita Punia was called to action right from the get-go, saving successive shots at her goal. Soon after, the Netherlands were awarded a penalty corner and this season's leading goalscorer, Jansen, powered a shot down the middle of 🎶the goal to giv🤪e the Netherlands an early lead.
As the Netherlands looked to sit back and absorb the pressure, an Indian counter-attack caught them by surprise. Sunelita Toppo ventured down the right wing and found Navneet at the top of the shooting circle. Navneet turned around and unleashed a thunderous strike that brought 𒈔India back on level terms.
ALSO READ: India's Full Pro League Schedule
The Netherlands came close to scoring as the ꧂second quarter began when Pien Dicke dodged p♌ast the Indian defence but her shot hit the post and deflected away.
India went on to create a goal♌-scoring chance of their own as Sunelita 🎀found herself in acres of space, and picked out Vandana Katariya who was one-on-one with the Netherlands’ goalkeeper Josine Koning, who rushed out to diffuse the situation.
India continued to look for a chink in Netherland𓃲s’ armour but Laura Nu♔nnink initiated a counter-attack and sprayed a quick pass to Fay van der Elst who dove to deflect the ball past Savita and restored Netherlands’ lead.
Both teams went on to earn a couple of penalty corners but the scoreline remained 2-1 at the end of thﷺe first half.
The Netherlands piled pressure on India in the third quarter, eventually earning a penalty corn♋er and Jansen꧅ let loose a powerful drag flick to beat Savita and make it 3-1.
They were awarded another penalty corner soon after. However, Savita battered away th🌳e ꦜshot on goal.
As India searched for a goal, they pushed th🎉e Netherlands back into their own half but were unable to stitch together the final pass.
In the fourth quarter, both teams created back-to-back chances. India went on ✃to earn a penalty corner two minutes into the quarter but the Netherlands’ defence held sway.
As the exchange of chances continued, Jansen looked to extend Netherlands’ lead with a reverse shot from the ๊top of the shooting cir💃cle but it bounced off the post again.
The Netherlands pegged India b𝓰ack as the quarter progౠressed but a quick counter saw India earn a penalty corner.
However, Udita’s slap sailed just wid𒅌e of the post. The last period of play saw the Netherlands keep hold of the ball to kill off the game and the con🐲test ended 3-1 in their favour.
