The Indian junior women’s hockey team registered a 3-1 victory over Wales in their 9–11 classification match at the FIH Junior Women’s World Cup, held at the Centro Deportivo de Hockey Césped, Estadio Nacional, Santiago.
Hina Bano opened the scoring in the 14th minute, followed by goals from Sunelita Toppo (24’) and Ishika (31’) for India. Eloise Moat netted Wales’ only goal in the 52nd minute.
India began aggressively, earning a penalty corner within the first 30 seconds and building early momentum. They created multiple chances through structured play between the lines but initially struggled to convert.
Wales came close to taking the lead through a penalty stroke, but Nidhi produced an excellent save to keep the scores level. India eventually broke the deadlock in the final minute of the first quarter when Hina Bano tapped in after a clever setup from Sakshi Rana.
India continued pressing in the second quarter, earning another penalty corner early on. Their sustained pressure paid off when Rana’s initial shot deflected to Sunelita Toppo, who scored from close range to make it 2-0 in the 24th minute. Dominating play with 14 circle penetrations, India deservedly went into halftime with a two-goal cushion.
The lead grew to 3-0 early in the third quarter when Ishika scored off a rebound from the Welsh goalkeeper. Jyoti Singh’s side dictated the tempo through disciplined structure, high press, and tight defensive organization, consistently forcing Wales deep into their half.
India maintained possession and continued to seek further breakthroughs in the final quarter. Wales, however, found a late opening, with Eloise Moat scoring in the 52nd minute to pull one back. The goal proved only a consolation as India remained composed to seal a well-earned 3-1 win.
India will next face Uruguay on December 9.
IANS
