New Delhi: Indian women team defeated Canada 4-1 in their second match of the Olympic Qualifiers being played at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium, New Delhi. Soundarya Yendala, Rani Rampal, Sushila Chanu and Anuradha Devi scored for the hosts.
Indians failed to complete the passes in the initial minutes just like the last match and failed to capitalize on the opportunities. India got their first real opportunity in the 4th minute but Jasjeet Kaur missed the chance. This was followed by a miss from Soundarya Yendala in the next minute.
India continued to build the pressure and in the 7th minute they won their first penalty corner. They failed to capitalize though, as the shot hit the diving goalkeeper. Within the next three minutes India got another opportunity and this time it was Anuradha Devi who missed the shot.
The continuous attack by the Indians resulted in them winning their second penalty corner in the 17th minute and this time Indians did not let the opportunity go by. And it was the goal scorer from the last match Soundarya Yendala who scored the opening match.
Within 2 minutes India got their second goal and this time it was Rani Rampal’s superb play which resulted in India extending their lead. Rani tore into the Canadian defence from the left and beat the goal keeper with a scoop.
The visitors soon tested the Indian defence in the next minute but failed to score their opening goal. In the 25th minute Vandana Katariya had only the goal keeper to beat but she missed the chance and in the process and won the 3rd penalty corner. This was followed by the series of short corners for the hosts and in their 6th corners they extended their lead to 3-0. This time it was the captain who got into the act as she gave a superb pass to Sushila Chanu who did not disappoint.
In the dying minutes of the first half Ritu Rani hit the top of the goal post and with that ended the half which was dominated by the Indians.
The second half saw the vistors improving on their defence and had a strong control on the ball. The shackles were broken from a crisp shot from Anuradha Devi who defeated the goal keeper and put the score line at 4-0 in the 49th minute.
Both teams tried hard to press on but failed to add any more till 69th minute when Canada scored their consolation goal through a strike from Hannah Haughn.
By Gaurav Jha
Indian Sports News
