FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup 2022: Vandana Katariya’s goal helps India hold China to 1-1 draw

Goals
were
scored
by
Jiali
Zheng
(26′)
of
China
and
Vandana
Katariya
(45′)
of
India.
Indian
eves
put
up
a
brave
show
in
the
game
against
the
Asian
giants.
In
their
first
match
on
Sunday
(July
3),
India
had
held
England
to
a
1-1
draw
where
it
was
Vandana
who
had
scored
for
the
team
while
China
too
had
drawn
2-2
against
New
Zealand.

Women’s
Hockey
World
Cup
Winners
List:
Champions,
Runners
Up
and
Third-Place
Teams
From
1974
To
2018

It
was
a
tense
start
to
the
match
with
the
Chinese
dominating
the
ball
possession
and
structured
their
attack
in
the
initial
minutes
of
the
game
but
once
India
shook
off
their
nerves,
they
made
some
lethal
circle
penetrations
that
could
have
earned
them
an
early
lead.
One
such
opportunity
came
in
the
6th
minute
when
Sharmila
Devi
and
Navneet
Kaur
worked
in
tandem
to
take
a
shot
on
goal.
But
Navneet’s
strike
was
blocked
by
a
strong
Chinese
defence.

After
ending
the
first
quarter
in
a
stalemate,
India
penetrated
the
Chinese
defence
on
a
number
of
occasions
in
the
second
quarter.
In
the
23rd
minute,
a
PC
awarded
to
India
was
contested
and
the
referral
went
in
favour
of
China.
It
was
a
shot
taken
by
Vandana
from
top
of
the
D
which
bounced
off
Jyoti’s
body
into
the
goal,
after
she
missed
getting
a
deflection
thus
resulting
in
the
referral
going
against
India.

But
only
seconds
later,
India
found
the
foot
of
Chinese
defender
winning
their
first
PC
of
the
match.
But
this
chance
went
amiss
too
as
Gurjit
Kaur’s
powerful
dragflick
was
blocked
away
by
the
Chinese
goalie
Liu
Ping.

China,
however,
did
not
falter
when
their
attackers
created
a
sublime
variation
that
resulted
in
a
goal.
It
was
Jiali
Zheng
who
put
the
ball
past
India’s
experienced
goalkeeper
Savita
in
the
26th
minute.
Meanwhile,
India
continued
to
work
some
impressive
formations
in
their
attack,
earning
the
team
another
PC
in
the
27th
minute
but
Monika
who
took
the
shot
couldn’t
make
much
of
the
chance,
thus
ending
the
second
quarter
with
China
leading
1-0.
Both
teams
displayed
attacking
hockey
coupled
with
speed
and
patience
in
their
efforts.

The
third
quarter
saw
China
fetching
their
first
PC
of
the
match
but
couldn’t
make
much
of
it
with
Gu
Bingfeng’s
drag
going
wide.
India,
who
won
a
couple
of
PCs
in
this
quarter
remained
calm
in
their
pursuit
for
a
goal.
Their
wait
finally
ended
in
the
45th
minute
when
the
team
converted
from
their
5th
PC
of
the
match.
It
was
the
experienced
striker
Vandana
Katariya,
who
once
again,
was
the
cynosure
of
India’s
PC
attack.
She
picked
up
a
brilliant
deflection
off
Gurjit’s
fiercely-struck
dragflick
sending
the
ball
flying
past
the
Chinese
goalie.

With
an
even
score
on
the
board,
this
match
too
like
the
previous
one
India
battled
against
England
went
down
to
the
wire.
India
showed
more
urgency
to
convert
a
goal
in
the
final
quarter
and
they
also
defended
well
to
keep
the
pressure
on
their
opponents.
They
even
warded
off
danger
in
the
56th
minute
when
they
conceded
a
PC,
but
they
did
well
with
the
line
defence
to
clear
the
ball.
Both
teams
contested
for
the
ball
in
the
dying
minutes
of
the
game,
bringing
the
viewers
to
the
edge
of
their
seats.
But
with
seconds
ticking
away,
neither
could
successfully
score
despite
China
calling
for
a
video
referral
asking
for
a
PC
on
the
hooter.
With
this
match
too
ending
in
a
stalemate,
India
will
hunt
for
a
win
in
their
last
round
robin
league
match
on
Thursday.

On
7th
July,
India
will
take
on
New
Zealand
in
their
third
pool
B
match
at
2300
hrs
IST.
Please
note,
the
matches
will
be
live
on
Star
Sports
First,
Star
Sports
3
and
streamed
on
Disney+
Hotstar