Indian women’s hockey team suffers 3-2 defeat to China in first match of Germany tour

The Indian women's hockey team lost 3-2 to the People’s Republic of China in a closely-fought match in Limburg, Germany, on Sunday.

This was India’s first match of the European tour, which is part of the team’s preparations for the Asian Games 2023. The tour includes three matches in Germany - one against China and two against the hosts - and a four-nation hockey tournament in Spain.

Navneet Kaur (24', 45') scored both of India’s goals while Chen Jiali (9'), Zhong Jiaqi (45') and Xu Yanan (51') netted to guide China to a win.

World No. 8 India attacked from the start and earned a penalty corner in the third minute but the Chinese defence thwarted the danger. A few minutes later, an infringement while defending saw India concede a penalty stroke. China, 11th in the women's hockey rankings, capitalised on the chance and scored their first goal. The next few minutes saw both the teams trade penalty corners but neither side could convert.

The Indian women's hockey team began the second quarter on a positive note. A well-executed attack saw India win back-to-back penalty corners but neither yielded any goals. However, India went on the offensive and scored the equaliser via Navneet Kaur’s field goal minutes later.

Riding on the momentum, the Indian hockey team took the lead in the 45th minute when Navneet Kaur scored her second goal to make it 2-1. However, China were quick to equalise via a penalty corner through Zhong Jiaqi.

Xu Yanan’s 51st-minute strike gave China a 3-2 lead. Though India created a few chances in the dying minutes of the game, they were unable to beat the Chinese defence.

India will play Germany in back-to-back matches on Tuesday and Wednesday next before departing for Spain.