SANTIAGO (Chile), Dec 5: Purnima Yadav hit a brace to lead India to a dominant 4-0 victory over Ireland in their final Pool C match at the FIH Junior Women’s World Cup here on Friday.Purnima (42’,58’), Kanika Siwach (12’) and Sakshi Rana (57’) scored the goals for India at the Centro Deportivo de Hockey Césped, Estadio Nacional in Santiago.
In the first quarter, Sakshi played the perfect pass to Kanika inside the circle who skillfully went around the charging Irish goalkeeper and slotted the ball into an open net to break the deadlock.
In the 42nd minute, India won another penalty corner which was perfectly converted this time as Sakshi Shukla played a strong pass to Purnima Yadav in front of goal as she deflected the ball into the net to extend India’s lead.The fourth quarter saw Ireland fight back as Eabha Curran was through on goal and took a shot towards the bottom right corner of the post however, her attempt was stopped by a perfectly timed block by Nandini.
In the 57th and the 58th minute, India scored back-to-back goals to further build on their lead. First, Sakshi showcased incredible skills from the left flank as she went past the defenders and took a powerful shot beating the goalkeeper and finding the bottom corner of the goal post.This was followed by Purnima’s second goal of the match as she did well to calmly deflect the ball over the goalkeeper and into the net to register India’s fourth and final goal of the match. (PTI)
