The Indian women's team put up a spirited fight in their second match of the FIH Women's Hockey World Cup Spain and Netherlands 2022 as they drew 1-1 against Asian rivals China at the packed Wagener Hockey Stadium, Amstelveen on Tuesday.
A goal from Vandana Katariya in the 45th minute of the match helped the Indian team in picking up a point after Jiali Zheng had opened the scoring for China in the 26th minute. "I thought we started well against a tight Chinese defence.
We were unlucky to not score early on and one moment of not paying attention defensively resulted in us conceding a goal. After that, we struggled for a bit but when we found the space, we were able to play some good combinations," India chief coach Janneke Schopman said in a statement. "The PC goal was great but felt like we forgot to push through after that with China being more aggressive in the end phase.
We are where we are but obviously, we would have liked to have more points. Our pool is incredibly tough and small things will make the difference," she added.