Indian women’s hockey triumph over Chile 3-1

Spain, Dec 12  Indian Women’s Hockey Team made a strong start to their campaign at the FIH Women’s Nations Cup 2022 by registering a dominant 3-1 win against Chile.
Goals were scored by Sangita Kumari (3′), Sonika (11′) and Navneet Kaur (32′) while Fernanda Villagran (44′) scored Chile’s lone goal.
Sonika was awarded player of the match for her impressive effort in Sunday’s match.
Ace goalkeeper Savita-led Indian Women’s Hockey Team got off the blocks to a fine start in the first quarter, making their intent to their opponents very clear.
They played with good structure, rotated the ball with precision to find gaps in the Chilean circle early in the game. Their efforts paid off, with in-form Sangita Kumari finding the net in the 3rd minute of the game.
It was experienced forward Vandana Katariya, who set up the goal with a brilliant tackle into the right flank and pushing the ball to Sangita, who made no mistake in putting it past the Chilean goalie.
Her goal gave India the edge over Chile as they went on to build on this momentum in the following minutes of the match. They played with good speed in their attack, putting Chile’s defence under the pump.
India extended their lead to 2-0 in the 11th minute when Sangita set up Sonika with a fine assist to convert the goal. Sonika who was positioned on the left flank found a perfect deflection, giving India a solid lead.
After a goalless second quarter, India started the third quarter on an attacking note. This time, it was Neha Goyal, who created the scoring opportunity when she picked up an aerial pass and assisted Navneet to score India’s third goal. This 32nd minute goal gave India a good cushion in the second half of the match.
India’s defence in the meantime held sway without conceding any goals. Chile, however, did manage to slip one in, in the 44th minute through penalty corner via Fernanda Villagran.
The final quarter saw India make some amends to the defensive error that led to a PC goal. They created some fine scoring opportunities in the D, with some skill full play by Vandana, Sangita and Navneet.
Chile’s goalie Natalia Salvador did a fine job to keep Indian attackers from scoring, thus ending the match with 3-1 scoreline.