Rotterdam (the Netherlands): Two goals in the first minute of the second half set the Indian women’s hockey team on the path to overhauling a one-goal deficit and scripting a rousing 4-2 win against a fighting United States in the FIH Pro League here.
India weathered an early fight from the USA and conceded the lead in the 28th minute before fighting back to win the first match of the double header.
Deep Grace Ekka (31st min), Navneet Kaur (32nd min), Sonika (39th min) and Vandana Katariya (49th min) struck for India while Danielle Grega (28th min) and Natalie Konerth (45th min) scored for the United States as the Indians weathered some anxious moments in the final quarter to take three points from the match,
The win helped India move up to 27 points in the points table, five points ahead of fourth-placed Belgium, who have two more matches to play and can reach a maximum of 28 points.
India will have to win their second encounter with the USA — their final match in the FIH Pro League 2021-22 campaign — at least in a shoot-out to prevent Belgium from overtaking them and finishing third behind champions Argentina and the second-placed Netherlands.
