He Indian women’s hockey team lost 1-3 against the Netherlands in the FIH Hockey Pro League 2023/24 at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium, here on Sunday.
The Netherlands’ Yibbi Jansen (3′, 34′) and Fay van der Elst (21′) etched their name on the scoresheet. Navneet Kaur (9′) scored the only goal for India.
India’s goalkeeper Savita 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, Yibbi Jansen, powered a shot down the middle of the goal to grant the Netherlands an early lead.
As the Netherlands looked to sit back and absorb the pressure, an Indian counterattack caught them by surprise. Sunelita Toppo ventured down the right wing and found Navneet Kaur at the top of the shooting circle who turned around and unleashed a thunderous strike that brought India back on level terms.
The Netherlands came close to scoring as the second quarter began when Pien Dicke dodged past the Indian defence but her shot hit the post and deflected away. India went on to create a goalscoring 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, but she rushed out to diffuse the situation.
India continued to look for a chink in Netherlands’ armour but Laura Nunnink initiated a counterattack 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 the first half.