India went down fighting in their opening match, losing 1-2 to China in the Hawke's Bay Cup tournament in Hastings, New Zealand on Saturday.
Anuradha Thokochom (31st minute) scored the first goal of the match to give India the lead, but China soon struck back with Mengyu Wang (34th) and Qian Yu (38th) netting the ball to run away with the game.
Both the teams, in their bid to not allow easy goals to each other, ensured that their defence was strong, restricting the forwards to capitalise on the opportunities.
The two sides tried to create the initial pressure but the defenders proved to be more than handful. This resulted in a dry run in the first two quarters and the first half ended 0-0.
The real action was witnessed in the third quarter when India opened their account.
Immediately into the second half, India broke the shackles and scored the first goal of the Hawke's Bay Cup in 31st minutes when Thokochom ensured she slammed the ball past the goalkeeper, stunning the opponents.
The lead, however, was short-lived as China bounced back and equalised just three minutes later. China earned a penalty corner and capitalised with Wang scoring the goal.
India launched a counter attack but China struck again in the 38th minute with Yu scoring a field goal.
The rest of the session saw the Indian eves searching for the equaliser but they failed.
India continued to attack in the last quarter also, maintaining a good ball possession but were unable to score the equaliser.
India will play their next match against USA on Sunday.
Image: An Indian hockey player tries to get past the Chinese players in the opening game of the Hawke’s Bay Cup in New Delhi on Saturday
Photograph: PTI
