It finally came down to a penalty stroke and the scoreline read 2-1 in favour of China as the Indian women’s hockey team began the second leg of its FIH Pro League matches at the Birsa Munda Stadium here with yet another loss on Monday but it wasn’t as close a game as the result would suggest.
Possession to India, control and game to China — that was the story of the night as the host, after an initial 10-minute period of intense pace and intent gradually slipped behind even as China dictated the direction for large parts of the game.
Starting quickly and with purpose, India had the upper hand early on and kept the pressure on the Chinese defence with repeated circle entries, one of them seeing Vandana Katariya’s backhand pass from close to the backline being deflected in by Sangita Kumari for the lead.
