Muristek
Muscat, January 31
The Indian women's hockey team made a grand debut at the FIH Pro League, hammering China 7-1 in the first game of the two-leg tie here today. Navneet Kaur (5th minute), Neha (12th), Vandana Katariya (40th), Sushila Chanu (47th, 52nd), Sharmila Devi (48th) and Gurjit Kaur (50th) were the goalscorers for India. China's lone goal was scored by Xue Deng in the 43rd minute.
India, who were invited to participate in the tournament following the withdrawal of Australia and New Zealand, made a near perfect start to their campaign. Going into a busy year, the win was a welcome boost for the team, especially after having failed to defend their title at the Asia Cup last week. However, they came into the contest high on confidence, having beaten China 2-0 in the bronze-medal playoff at the Asia Cup at the same venue.
This time though, India were far more dominant against a less experienced Chinese side. World No. 9 India made 36 circle entries and had 20 shots on goal. They earned four penalty corners, converting none. They converted three penalty strokes, which is a women's Pro League record for most strokes converted in one game. World No. 13 China had four shots on goal and earned one penalty corner, which required a brilliant save from captain and goalkeeper Savita.
This was India's eighth win over China since 2013. With the win, the Indian women's hockey team moved to the third position in the Pro League points table.
Forward Sharmila was named the Player of the Match. "I am very happy with that performance. We played very well and we are very excited to be playing in the FIH Hockey Pro league for the first time," Sharmila said. The two teams will face off again tomorrow. — Agencies