Indian Women's hockey team secured a draw against Spain Women in their second match of the Spanish Hockey Federation International Tournament on Thursday.
Both India and Spain scored early in the match and managed to defend well in the latter part of the match to secure a draw. The scoreline was 2-2 at the end of the first half, with both teams trying to breach through the defence of each other right from the start of the second half but failed to do so.
India's Vaishnavi Phalke's smart play made Spain commit an error, which ended in a penalty corner. However, Spain goalkeeper, Clara Perez's reflexes saved the goal. In the final quarter, India continued to dominate, but some outstanding efforts from Perez kept the scores level.
Spain also managed to get through the Indian defence multiple times but Indian goalkeeper Savita Punia kept them from scoring. Even during the final moments of the game, Spain earned a penalty corner but Savita made an excellent stop to keep the scores level.
Navneet Kaur scored twice for Indian Women in today's Spanish Hockey Federation International Tournament Match
India's Navneet Kaur was the stand-out performer in the match against England as she managed to score twice against Spain today. Notably, Navneet Kaur produced an excellent display against Germany earlier this month in Frankfurt.
In the first quarter of the match, Spain's Xantal Gine gave the initial lead for the team by converting a long pass in the 13th minute. India attacked immediately and Navneet Kaur made full use of the long pass to score the equaliser.
India continued to attack, and Deepika got through Spain's defence but could not convert it into a goal. A few minutes later, Laia Vidosa scored the goal by converting the penalty corner in the 26th minute. Navneet Kaur dribbled past Spain's defence to produce the equaliser in the 29th minute of the Spanish Hockey Federation International Tournament match.
Though India could not find a win against the hosts, Navneet Kaur's form in the last two tournaments has been a talking point ahead of the Asian Games 2023. Indian Women's team will face-off with England on July 28. The matches of the Spanish Hockey Federation International Tournament will be available in Watch Hockey.