Women's Hockey World Cup 2022: India secure second consecutive draw after being held 1-1 by China

India were held to a second consecutive 1-1 draw by China at the Women’s Hockey World Cup 2022 on Tuesday.

China took the lead in the 26th minute through Jiali Zheng and Vandana Katariya levelled the score in the 45th minute for the Indian women.

India had played out a stalemate with a similar score in their opening match against England on the third of July.

The Indian women got off to a great start and had the lion’s share of possession during the first two quarters of the match. However, their efforts didn’t translate into goals.

Navneet Kaur had the first shot on goal in the ninth minute. However, her attempt was thwarted by the Chinese goalkeeper, Liu Ping. In the 23rd minute of the game, India thought they had taken the lead after a shot off the goal post was bundled in by Jyotika. However, on review, the goal was disallowed.

India had also received their first penalty corner of the game shortly after but failed to capitalize.

The Chinese team had adopted a counter-attacking approach to the match on Tuesday and took the lead against the run of play in the 26th minute. Zheng scored past the Indian captain Savita Punia after being put through on goal by a wonderful pass from Xindan Zhang.

India received another penalty corner shortly after, but again failed to find the back of the net.

China came out on the front foot after halftime and had their first penalty corner in the 33rd minute. However, the effort went wide. In the 42nd minute of the game, India received two golden opportunities as they got two consecutive penalty corners. However, they failed to convert both the chances.

Finally, they were able to level the scores towards the end of the third quarter as Gurjit Kaur’s dragflick was diverted into the net by Vandana Katariya.

Both teams battled hard in the final 15 minutes of the game for the winner, but had to settle for a draw.

India will face New Zealand in the final pool match on the 7th of July. With just two points from their first two games, India will require a win in the final match to guarantee a place in the next stage.

Watch Live TV in English

Watch Live TV in Hindi