Madrid, Sep 29 (UNI) India squandered a goal's advantage and suffered their second successive defeat in the Women's Hockey World Cup after Germany scored twice in the last 10 minutes to win 3-2 in a Pool 'A' match here today.
Both the teams were tied 1-1 at half-time.
The Indian girls fought hard against their mighty opponents and were on the verge of scoring an upset win after leading 2-1 with under 10 minutes to play before the Germans roared back into the match with two late goals to clinch their first win after a 0-1 loss to Spain in their first match.
The match opened with both teams trying to assert themselves in the mid-field and the Indian girls got their first chance in the ninth minute itself but Surinder Kaur couldn't get a full stick on her shot.
The Indians got another chance to take the lead in the very next minute when they earned a penalty corner but Surinder hit the shot wide off the goal to waste a golden oppotunity.
The Indians kept attacking after that but could not get past the tough German defence. Despite being the better of the two teams, the Indians were unable to score and Germany took the lead in the 21st minute through a penalty corner.
Anke Kuehn took the shot and made no mistake in flicking the ball into the Indian net to give early lead to Germany.
The Indian eves did not lose heart after the initial setback and kept up the pressure on the Germans before Surinder drew parity in the 34th minute.
Surinder deflected a free hit into the German goal to equalise for India and make it 1-1 at half-time.
The second half saw the Indians in high spirits as Saba Anjum led the attack in the German circle. Saba was looking increasingly dangerous with her runs inside the German defence and could have given India the lead in the 49th minute but her attempt went wide.
Deepika also had a golden opportunity but failed to gain control on her shot after getting a chance in front of the goal in the 53rd minute. Germany also had their fair share of chances but they also lacked good finishing.
India took the lead in the 61st minute after Mamta Kharab took advantage of a missed German pass to score over the shoulder of German goalkeeper Yvonne Frank. The celebrations, however, did not last long as the Germans stepped up the pressure and found an equaliser within the next two minutes as Mandy Haase put back a rebound in the 63rd minute.
Saba Anjum got a chance to re-claim the Indian lead in the 65th minute but her shot went wide after she had successfully run into the German circle. Germans went for the kill after that and Natascha Keller sealed the issue for them in the 66th minute.
Natascha took the ball into the Indian circle and lifted it past the Indian goalkeeper Helen Mary Innocent to give Germany a hard-fought win.
The Indians, having lost their opening match to the Netherlands 2-3, lie second from bottom in the points table. They will now take on England in their third Pool 'A' match on Sunday.
UNI XC PM KP2334
Both the teams were tied 1-1 at half-time.
The Indian girls fought hard against their mighty opponents and were on the verge of scoring an upset win after leading 2-1 with under 10 minutes to play before the Germans roared back into the match with two late goals to clinch their first win after a 0-1 loss to Spain in their first match.
The match opened with both teams trying to assert themselves in the mid-field and the Indian girls got their first chance in the ninth minute itself but Surinder Kaur couldn't get a full stick on her shot.
The Indians got another chance to take the lead in the very next minute when they earned a penalty corner but Surinder hit the shot wide off the goal to waste a golden oppotunity.
The Indians kept attacking after that but could not get past the tough German defence. Despite being the better of the two teams, the Indians were unable to score and Germany took the lead in the 21st minute through a penalty corner.
Anke Kuehn took the shot and made no mistake in flicking the ball into the Indian net to give early lead to Germany.
The Indian eves did not lose heart after the initial setback and kept up the pressure on the Germans before Surinder drew parity in the 34th minute.
Surinder deflected a free hit into the German goal to equalise for India and make it 1-1 at half-time.
The second half saw the Indians in high spirits as Saba Anjum led the attack in the German circle. Saba was looking increasingly dangerous with her runs inside the German defence and could have given India the lead in the 49th minute but her attempt went wide.
Deepika also had a golden opportunity but failed to gain control on her shot after getting a chance in front of the goal in the 53rd minute. Germany also had their fair share of chances but they also lacked good finishing.
India took the lead in the 61st minute after Mamta Kharab took advantage of a missed German pass to score over the shoulder of German goalkeeper Yvonne Frank. The celebrations, however, did not last long as the Germans stepped up the pressure and found an equaliser within the next two minutes as Mandy Haase put back a rebound in the 63rd minute.
Saba Anjum got a chance to re-claim the Indian lead in the 65th minute but her shot went wide after she had successfully run into the German circle. Germans went for the kill after that and Natascha Keller sealed the issue for them in the 66th minute.
Natascha took the ball into the Indian circle and lifted it past the Indian goalkeeper Helen Mary Innocent to give Germany a hard-fought win.
The Indians, having lost their opening match to the Netherlands 2-3, lie second from bottom in the points table. They will now take on England in their third Pool 'A' match on Sunday.
UNI XC PM KP2334
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