Rani Rampal helps India draw second game against Argentina juniors
Captain Rani Rampal’s goal steered India to a 1-1 draw, their second-consecutive one, against the Argentina junior women’s team.
The Indian women's hockey team played out a second straight draw against the Argentina junior team on Tuesday at the Cenard in Buenos Aires.
Captain Rani Rampal’s goal from a penalty corner helped the Indian women's hockey team come back after being a goal down in the 13th minute.
India attacked from the first minute, earning a penalty corner but penalty corner specialist Gurjit Kaur dragged her shot wide as did defender Deep Grace Ekka – who scored in the 2-2 draw previously – in the fifth minute.
The hosts then mounted attacks and made India pay for their profligacy, scoring the opening goal in the 13th minute from a penalty corner.
Playing in just their second competitive match in a year, the Indian girls did not back down from the challenge, creating several attacking opportunities but the goal remained elusive.
The equaliser finally came 12 minutes from the end when Navneet Kaur’s rapid injection from a penalty corner gave Rani Rampal the time and space she needed and she duly put it away into the far corner.
Chief coach Sjoerd Marijne was impressed with the improvement from the previous game.
“Today the quality of play was better and that's why we are here - to improve in every match,” Marijne said. “Today players got the chance to show their best and these are players who normally don't get a chance to make the 18-member squad so it's good they are able to get international exposure
“It is also good for the core group that we are getting to try more players and see how different combinations work. We created enough opportunities to score more and this is an area we need to keep working on.”
The Indian hockey women’s team continue the practice tour of Argentina with a match against Argentina B on Friday.