FIH Pro League 2021-22: Indian women's hockey team beat USA 4-2

The Indian women's hockey team defeated the USA 4-2 in their first of two matches against the Americans in the ongoing 2021-22 FIH Pro League tie in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on Tuesday (June 21).

Vice-Captain Deep Grace Ekka (31'), Navneet Kaur (32'), Sonika (40'), and Vandana Katariya (50') stepped up for India while Daniella Grega (28') and Natalie Konerth (45') were the goalscorers for the USA.

After a goalless first quarter, Danielle Grega scored her first goal of the match to provide USA with the lead in the 28th minute through a field goal.

Meanwhile, vice-captain Deep Grace struck in the 31st minute to get India to level the score at 1-1. Riding on the momentum, Navneet Kaur slipped the ball into the goalpost in the next minute to extend the lead to 2-1.

India came out all guns blazing to earn a penalty corner in the 36th minute, where Gurjit's attempt was yet again blocked by the USA defence. India continued to dominate the ball possession, taking control of proceedings and eventually taking a two-goal lead of 3-1 through Sonika's goal in the 40th minute.

However, USA tried to fight back as Natalie Konerth found the back of the net on the rebound in the 45th minute to make it 2-3 at the end of the third quarter.

Indian women’s hockey team's speedy forward Vandana Katariya came in the 50th minute to score India's fourth goal, providing the side with a solid lead.

The USA started the final quarter aggressively and created a chance early on, but young goalkeeper Bichu Devi averted the danger. The USA continued to create chances and earned yet another penalty corner in the 53rd minute, but failed to convert it. They eventually lost the match 2-4 to India.

Navneet Kaur, who was adjudged the Player of the Match, said:

"We struggled in the first half but we came back in the second half. We were struggling under pressure in the first half. But in the second half, we coped with the pressure and once we started scoring, we got better."

The Indian team is currently third in the league table with 27 points from 13 matches behind Argentina (42 points) and the Netherlands ( 35 points).

FIH Pro League 2022: Indian women's team's upcoming fixtures

Match 2: USA vs India

Date: June 22, 2022 Timings: 8:00 pm IST

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FIH Pro League 2022:

Streaming details

All FIH Pro League 2022 matches will be telecast live on Star Sports Select 2 and Star Sports Select 2 HD. Matches will also be available for live streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.