The Indian junior women’s hockey team proved that they are here to stay in the junior women’s World Cup as they registered a commanding 3-1 victory over Wales in their qualification match on Monday at Centro Deportivo de Hockey Cesped, Estadio Nacional, Santiago. Hina Bano, Sunelita Toppo, and Ishika were among the scorers for India. Eloise Moat was the only player from Wales to score a goal.
Indian ladies started the game on a high note, and from the very beginning, they were on the front foot. Indian players were attacking from the very beginning of the match, showcasing brilliant skills to create opportunities regularly, but they couldn't find an early opening goal.
Wales also had an opportunity to get the advantage. At the start of the match, Wales got an early opportunity with a penalty stroke, but a brilliant stop by Nidhi helped India keep the score level.
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Pure dominance by the Indian girls
At the 14 minutes of the match, just before the end of the first quarter, India took the chance to take the lead, as Hina Bano tapped the ball into the net after getting a solid pass from Sakshi Rana. The Indian team stayed focused on the goal and looked forward to maintaining the pressure with another Penalty Corner at the start of the second quarter. India put Wales under pressure continuously and dominated the field by creating chances regularly.
India got the result of the hard work when Sakshi Rana again passed the ball to the way of Sunelita Toppo (24'), and she netted the ball with grace, and with that India held a deserving 2-0 lead at the break.
The Indian team carried forward the momentum with a win
India extended their lead to 3-0 early in the second half when Ishika scored in the 31st minute, capitalizing on a rebound from the Welsh goalkeeper. Under Jyoti Singh's leadership, the team controlled the game's tempo, effectively stretching the Welsh defense by playing between the lines and pressing high, all while maintaining discipline and compactness at the back.
Indian women did not stop there; they created chances and took away the momentum from Wales again and again, maintaning possession throughout the entire match. In the 52nd minute, Wales finally grabbed their opportunity and scored a goal. Eloise Moat scored the only goal for her side. India won the match with a two-goal lead.
India will next compete against Uruguay on December 9th. All matches of the FIH Junior Women's World Cup 2025 are being live-streamed on Jio and Hotstar.
