Women's Hockey Team Draw With Argentina; Puts Tough Fight

Hockey Team Draw With Argentina: The Indian Women's hockey team on Sunday put up a spirited performance to end their stint in Argentina with a 1-1 draw. Indian skipper Rani Rampal and her squad played elusively.

In the 35th minute, skipper Rani struck for India while Emilia Forcherio scored for Argentina through a penalty stroke.

This match, played on Sunday, was the fourth scheduled match against the world no.2 women's hockey team Argentina. The third match which was scheduled for Saturday was abandoned due to continuous rain.

Previously during the tour, India had lost to Argentina 'B' team with 1-2, 2-3 scores. Against the Argentina junior team, India had drawn with a 2-2, 1-1 score. In a face-off with the Argentina senior side, India lost 2-3 and 0-2 in the first and second matches respectively.

The Indian women's hockey team tried their best to win against the home team in their last match of the tour but the experienced home team showed a dominant performance. Argentina was able to secure an upper hand during the match with a well-structured attack.

The early pressure on India's defence line proved to be beneficial for Argentina as they grabbed two penalty corners within three minutes of the first quarter. The Indian goalkeeper Savita retaliated to the pressure eloquently and made brilliant saves to counter-defy Argentina's attack.

Team India got various good opportunities but could not score. In the 11th minute, India was awarded a penalty corner, but due to improper execution, it failed. Various such instances were wasted due to Argentina's strong resilience.

On the improper execution and Argentina's win, Indian women's hockey team chief coach Sjoerd Marijne said, "After the 1-0 lead, we had to stay calm and continue to pursue our attack. We had to play more smartly but that's something we can work on."

Representational Image, Picture Credit: Rani Rampal / Instagram