India women’s team wins the second round of Hockey World League

When it comes to men’s sports, cricket is king, but women sportspersons in India are excelling at much more than just cricket. Yesterday, India beat Poland 3-1 in the final FIH Hockey World League Round 2 in New Delhi.  This is a huge win for India as it now puts the country in Semifinals.

The Sunday match between India and Poland was an intense one as both teams were equally fierce in the field. While India started well, Poland soon caught up fought the match head to head. Indian player Vandana Katariya was the first one to take a goal for the country but was soon followed by Poland’s Oriana Walasek’ penalty stroke in the second quarter.

The star of the Indian team was Rani, who won most penalty strokes for India and took the final goal for the country. This was her comeback after six months after she dislocated her shoulder.

Before the match with Poland, India saw an amazing victory against Thailand 5-0, post which, Poland coach Krzysztof Rachwalski warned India against taking Sunday’s final lightly. According to a report by the Hindustan Times, he said: "We have improved in the tournament with each game and the result is for everyone to see. We did well in the quarter-finals against Russia and today (Saturday) against Malaysia. We managed to score only one goal but it was enough for us to win the game. I think we are strong enough to face any opponent in the finals and it would be a very entertaining match to witness."

The Hindu>