Canberra 3-nation hockey tournament: India, Australia play 1-1 draw
Rajan Nath
December 5th 2019 04:58 PM
After an emphatic 2-0 win over New Zealand, Indian junior women's hockey team played a 1-1 draw against the hosts Australia in the 3-nation Tournament in Canberra on Thursday. The draw keeps India at thetop of the table with four points from two games while New Zealand is at number two position with three points and Australia at the bottom with one point.
The Indian team started the first quarter on an aggressive note and got into terrific positions to find openings. The Indian strikers stuck to their plans and earned a penalty corner in the 10th minute. However, the Australian defense stood tall and ensured that the two teams stayed level. India continued to attack its opponent's citadel and won another penalty corner just before the break, but the Australians managed to defend their goal to end the quarter at 0-0.
The Australian made a few more in-roads in the second quarter. The Indian defense thwarted a few attacks but Schonell Courtney found the back of the net in the 25th minute and put Australia ahead. The Indians tried to fight back immediately, but the Australians stood their ground. The two teams played out a high-intensity game for the rest of the quarter as the two teams went into half-time with Australia leading 1-0.
Australia continued to be the aggressor in the third quarter. It earned a penalty corner right away, but the Indian defense valiantly denied its opponents a chance to go 2-0 up in the match. The Indians found a way to get into good angles, but they couldn't find the back of the net. The Australians continued to dominate the rest of the quarter and ensured that they stayed in the lead at the end of the third quarter.
The Indian women turned the tables in the fourth quarter. They earned a penalty corner early on in the final quarter, but the Australians managed to block out the shot. However, India were awarded a penalty stroke in the 52nd minute and Gagandeep Kaur made no mistake to make the Indian team level the score in the dying minutes of the match. The visiting women rode on the momentum and earned a penalty corner in the final minute of the game. However, the Australian defense unit stood tall once again and made sure that the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
-PTC News