Santiago (Chile), Dec 8: Out of quarterfinal contention, India defeated Wales 3-1 to remain in the hunt for a ninth-place finish at the FIH Junior Women’s World Cup here.
Hina Bano (14’), Sunelita Toppo (24’), and Ishika (31’) scored for India, while Eloise Moat (52’) netted the lone goal for Wales. India had logged two wins and a loss to finish outside the top eight in the pool stage.
In Sunday’s match, India began with a penalty corner in the first 30 seconds. They were playing between the lines to carve out opportunities on regular occasions, but couldn’t find the opening goal early on.
Wales had the opportunity to surge ahead with a penalty stroke, but were denied by Nidhi as she made a sharp stop to keep the scores level.
India eventually managed to break the deadlock towards the end of the first quarter, courtesy a tap-in from Hina after some neat work by Sakshi Rana.
Looking to double their advantage, India maintained the pressure with another penalty corner at the start of the second quarter.
They continued to create chances regularly, and were rewarded for their persistence after Rana’s initial shot fell in the way of Sunelita, who made no mistake from close range. With 14 circle penetrations in the first half, India held a deserving 2-0 lead at the break.
India extended their lead to 3-0 early in the second half as Ishika found the back of the net after a rebound from the Welsh goalkeeper fell in her way.
Jyoti Singh’s side controlled the tempo of the game, stretching the Welsh defence by playing between the lines and pressing high, while remaining disciplined and compact at the back.
India continued to create chances, pushing Wales back in their own half to close out the third quarter.
With the lion’s share of possession, India remained in pursuit of more goal-scoring opportunities to further increase their advantage in the final quarter.
Wales had an opening on the other end and Eloise Moat (52nd) made it count, pulling one back for her side.
However, that only proved to be a consolation goal as India held firm to secure a well-deserved 3-1 win.
India will next play Uruguay on Tuesday and the winner of this match will progress to the ninth place showdown. The losing team will fight for the 11th spot in the overall standings. (PTI)
