Muristek
Muscat, February 1
The India women's team continued to make waves in the FIH Pro League, beating China 2-1 to move to the top of the standings here at the Sultan Qaboos Complex today.
On Monday, India had drubbed the same opponents 7-1 on their debut in the event.
While today's scoreline wasn't as big as the first match, the biggest takeaway from the game was India's ability to play swift, attacking hockey without losing composure.
Lack of experience and a certain level of weariness seemed to beset China right from the opening whistle. Lost possession, misplaced passes and a reluctance to get back and defend contributed to a lacklustre first half performance by them.
India, by contrast, started the match briskly and with an appetite for attacking play that rocked their opponents.
The pressure exerted by the Indians paid off quickly. A penalty corner in the third minute was converted with precision by Gurjit Kaur.
China were lucky not to have conceded another goal towards the end of the first 15 minutes as India created several scoring opportunities, but these either flew wide of the opposition goal or were dealt with by Wu Surong in China's goal.
If India's head coach Janneke Schopman were to be disappointed with anything about her team's performance, it would likely be the fact that 33 circle penetrations yielded only six shots at the Chinese goal.
Monika was named Player of the Match for the influential role she played. —