Indian Under-21 Women’s Hockey team held their fifth match on May 27th 27 against Germany, in which they lost 6-4. However, young Indians demonstrated a spirited performance to counter this situation, which they were trailing in the game for some time, to showcase the unseen potentiality.
Germany began just as they had in the previous match, where they took an early lead. This was confirmed again in the fifth match when, within five minutes of starting play, Germany netted twice. However, India’s defense held strong, preventing them from scoring on several penalty corners. In fact, during the dying moments of the first quarter, India managed a threat with a penalty corner but failed to score.
The Indians started well into the second quarter, hunting for an equalizer. The German defense, however, turned out to be too strong for any move from India. Capitalizing on this momentum, Germany went into halftime leading 3-0.
Similarly, the third quarter seemed to belong to Germany, who looked like they were controlling the game throughout. They added three more goals, including one converted penalty corner, which resulted in their holding a commanding six-goal advantage.
The Indian junior team could have been left dejected by this big gap. However, they deserve praise for the way they responded to the situation. The first goal for India came from Sanjana Horo in the third quarter, and it was scored when there were only a few minutes left.
This uplift their spirits to the point that, in the last period, they began relentlessly applying pressure against Germany.
Indeed, Horo wasn’t yet satisfied as she again scored her second goal of the match, reducing the further deficit. Binima Dhan and Kanika Siwach also entered the score sheet, netting a goal each to make it 4-6, with Germany leading slightly.
Although their comeback was ultimately unsuccessful, the Indian team displayed tremendous fighting spirit during the last half of the game. It demonstrated how determined India is as a nation and its ability to bounce back in times of adversity.
The loss came after a narrow 0-1 defeat to Germany just two days ago. In that match, Germany took an early lead and held on defensively, denying any attempt made by India to equalize. However frustrating this may be, their goalkeeper did well to save a German penalty stroke during the final quarter of play.
Thus, the exposure of the Indian junior women’s hockey team to a tour that contains challenging European opponents has significant learning effects. As much as they have not encapsulated the virtues of an ideal team, the performances have highlighted the talents and the spirit of the team.
They will look to take advantage of these strengths when they play against Dutch club Oranje Rood on May 29th, 2016 at Breda in the Netherlands. In this match against Oranje Rood, they can once again show their abilities on the court and practice some tactics that will be used in further games with the Indian team.
Therefore, the Indian junior women’s hockey team has the ability and the propensity to grow into a potent force in international hockey with a more focused effort on improvement.
