WHIL: Soorma Hockey Club win 2-1 against Odisha, tops the WHIL table

JSW Soorma Hockey Club secured a 2-1 victory over Odisha Warriors in the Women's Hockey India League (WHIL) match in Ranchi on Wednesday. 

A sixth-minute opener from Hina Bano and a 47th-minute strike from Sonam were enough to give Soorma the victory, although a late goal from Odisha's Freeke Moes did cause some jitters. 

With this win, Soorma leapfrog Odisha into the top of the WHIL standings, with two wins from two games. 

The match started with Odisha holding on to the ball and Soorma defending deep but looked dangerous on the counterattack. 

Soon enough, it took one good counterattack to open up the Odisha defense, with Sophie Hamilton playing Ajmina Kaur behind who played it to Hina Bano, and the Indian deflected the ball into the net making it 1-0 for Soorma. 

Soorma continued to hold on to the lead for the remainder of the half, with Odisha creating a lot of chances but were unable to get the decisive pass or shot away. 

In the second half, however, Soorma turned the screws on and dominated right from the get-go, and Odisha were pinned back for the majority of the third quarter. 

Thanks to this dominance, Soorma got the second goal from Sonika and looked comfortable but a 57th-minute strike from Odisha's Freeke Moes caused some panic around the Soorma team but they prevailed through the late surge, taking home the victory. 

Odisha are in action tomorrow, facing the Bengal Tigers, whereas Soorma are up against Delhi Pipers in their next encounter on 17th January.