FIH Women's World Cup: India finishes fifth with 11 debutants

The Indian women's hockey team pulled off a dominant 3-1 win over higher-ranked Germany in a classification match to finish a creditable fifth in the FIH World Cup, its best show in 52 years, on Thursday.

Navneet Kaur (44' and 47') scored a brace to play a major role in the win as India ended their campaign on a high. Ishika (43' minute) was the other goal getter for India.

Lynn Krings pulled one back for Germany in the 59th minute.

This was the Indian women team's best performance since finishing fourth in the inaugural World Cup in 1974 under Ajinder Kaur's leadership.

The current Indian team has 11 World Cup debutants, and the fifth place finish makes it more noteworthy.

Ninth-ranked India suffered just one defeat in the whole tournament, at the hands of Olympic champions and hosts the Netherlands.

This performance will undoubtedly boost the Indian team's confidence ahead of next month's Asian Games. The Indian team, which held Olympic silver medalist China to a 2-2 draw in the opening match, defeated South Africa 6-1 but then drew with England.

Having eliminated from the semi-final race after a goal-less draw against Australia in the final match of the second round, India pulled out all the stops against Germany, scoring three goals in the final 17 minutes.

Coach Sjoerd Marijne, who had guided India to a historic fourth place finish in Tokyo Olympics, jumped with joy after the final hooter.

This same German team had defeated India in two practice matches before the tournament. However in the fifth-place classification match on Thursday, both teams tested each other for the first 43 minutes but failed to score.

In the final 17 minutes, India displayed superb passing, excellent finishing, and strong defence, denying Germany any chance to recover.

Germany earned six penalty corners, but the Indian goalkeeper and defence remained rock-solid.

India made their first attempt in the fifth minute when Navneet took the ball from the left flank and passed it to Salima on the right, but the German goalkeeper stepped forward and blocked it. Salima called for a penalty corner, but the umpire ignored it.

In the ninth minute, Germany's Emma Davidsmeyer advanced alone from the right flank with the ball but lost control in front of the goal and failed to take a shot.

Just before the end of the first quarter, Shilpi Dabas passed the ball to Neha in midfield, but she lost possesion.

Germany earned their first penalty corner of the match in the 15th minute when Ishika obstructed Emma inside the circle. India took a referral, but the video umpire upheld the on-field umpire's decision. India lost the referral.

Indian goalkeeper Bichoo Devi brilliantly saved Lilly Stoffelsma's drag-flick, but Germany received their second consecutive penalty corner due to the rusher's early run but failed to convert from the variation. Neither team scored in the first 15 minutes.

India made their first attempt in the fourth minute of the second quarter when Deepika passed the ball from the middle of the field to Navneet, who passed it to Lalremsiami in the circle. Lalremsiami's shot went wide of the goalpost.

Germany earned their third penalty corner in the same minute, but the push was weak.

India had another golden opportunity in the 22nd minute, but despite two attempts, they failed to convert it.

First, Navneet took a direct shot from the left flank, which German goalkeeper Finja Starck blocked with her left foot, but the ball was still inside the D. It went to Salima on the right side of the goal, but her attempt was also thwarted by the German defence.

Neither team was able to score until the break. Even after the break, both teams showed no signs of momentum, and the match progressed at a very slow pace.

Ishika advanced alone from the right flank in the 35th minute with the ball, but lost control near the circle. Three minutes later, Jyoti had to leave the field with the help of a physiotherapist as she twisted her knee.

India's consistent efforts paid off in the 43rd minute when Ishika, receiving the ball from Neha, entered the circle and, with a reverse hit, put the ball over the German goalkeeper.

India earned the first penalty corner of the match the very next minute when Navneet was obstructed in the circle. Navneet's slap shot hit the ball before it could be stopped, hitting the defender's leg, giving India another penalty corner.

Navneet applied same 'touch-and-slap' technique, scoring India's second goal.

Navneet's brilliant dribbling gave India their third goal when, despite being surrounded by German defenders, she did not lose possession of the ball and took it past the goalkeeper and scored with a direct hit.

After conceding three goals, the German team counterattacked and earned a penalty corner in the 48th minute, but could not score. Another PC was also wasted, before they scored with one minute left in the match.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Bridge Desk. It is published from a syndicated feed.)