India were held to a 1-1 draw by China in a match in which both teams panicked, made too many mistakes in a Pool B encounter and struggled for real threats on target. FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup 2022 on Tuesday.
all the time!
Despite working hard, the hockey match in Amsterdam ends evenly!__ 1:1 __#IndiaKaGame #hockeyindia #HWC2022 #hockey invitation #hockey par #Pick up India #match day @sports_odisha @CMO_Odisha @indiasports @media_sai pic.twitter.com/4YxbJ4Aizr— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) 5 July 2022
Zheng Jiali put China ahead in the goalless 25th minute in the first quarter. Vandana Katariya equalized India in the 44th minute with a brilliant deflection from a penalty corner. Despite having an extra player on the field in the last five minutes, India were spared some worrying moments as the match ended in a stalemate.
India will now have to win their last Pool B match against New Zealand on Thursday and it is expected that China will fail to do better than England in their final encounter.
It was an intense match played at a good pace, but both teams made several miss-passes, allowed easy turnovers and showed a lack of creativity and direction in the final third as they drew for their second consecutive draw.
Jeanneke Schopman’s Indian team was defeated 1-1 by England in their opening match, while China played out a 2-2 draw with New Zealand in the first match.
Both the teams were desperate for a win and therefore tried too many and too many things, which ultimately resulted in both failing to capitalize on many opportunities.
India, who beat China 7-1 and 2-1 in FIH Pro League matches in Oman in January this year, were the better team on the field, had more ball possession and created more chances. He managed to earn five penalty corners by China in two but could only convert one.