Australia defeat India in controversial penalty shootout to make women's hockey final

Vandana Katariya's late strike took the match into penalties.

The India women's hockey team suffered a major heartbreak after Australia edged past India 3-0 in the shootout to snatch a victory in the Semi-Final of the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. Savita-led Indian Team fought valiantly in the regulation time which ended in 1-1 but missed out on converting their attempts in the shootout. Ambrosia Malone, Amy Lawton and Kaitlin Nobbs scored goals for Australia in the shootout.

Rebecca Greiner (10’) scored the solitary goal for Australia while Vandana Katariya (49’) was the lone scorer from the Indian side.

Australia started the game with a high pace and aggression while India kept their calm as they looked to create opportunities early on. Australia’s strategy paid off as they came close to scoring an early goal through a deflection but Savita made an outstanding save. After an incident and injury scare in the middle of the field, Australia were awarded a free kick, but India successfully blocked it.

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Navneet Kaur won a penalty corner for India shortly after, but nothing came of it. Following that, Australia stepped up its offensive, which was rewarded when Rebecca Greiner scored a tap-in goal in the 10th minute to give them the lead. Australia had another opportunity to double their lead, but Monika's outstanding defence prevented it. In the last minutes of the first quarter, India earned a free hit and a penalty corner, but it was not enough to level the contest.

Trailing by a goal, India began the second quarter on offence and were successful in piling pressure on the Australian defence on the right flank. Indian kept up its persistent push in search of an equaliser and came close to an equalizer after Neha won a penalty corner. However, the Australian goalkeeper saved Gurjit Kaur's on-point attempt.

In the 24th minute, Sangita took a great shot at the goal post, but Aleisha Power saved it. With five minutes remaining, India won another PC, but nothing came of it. Thereafter, both teams battled for dominance in the mid-field as the second quarter came to a close.

Similar to the second quarter, India began the third quarter on top, with Salima Tete leading the charge. Vandana Katariya and Navneet Kaur also made some crucial runs and passes as India looked to rattle Australia’s defence. As the game progressed, Australia came into the play with Shanea Tonkin making a piercing run inside the opposition circle but her shot went wide. However, this did not stop India from pushing for an equaliser.

India came within inches of scoring their first goal after a strong shot from Navneet Kaur, but Lalremsiami was slow to react to the pass. Australia won five consecutive PCs during the final minutes of the third quarter, but India did well to prevent them from scoring.

There was a sense of urgency among Indian players as the fourth quarter started, looking to level the contest. India's efforts were rewarded when Vandana Katariya scored in the 49th minute after being set by Sushila Chanu.

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Moments later, India had a chance to go one up after Vandana Katariya won a PC, but, it did not transpire into anything. After India’s equalizer, both sides increased their attacking in search of their second goal but were not successful as the game went to a shootout.

India will next take on New Zealand in the Bronze Medal match on Sunday, 7 August 2022, starting at 13:30 hrs (IST). The match will be telecast live on Sony Ten 3, Sony Six, and on the Sony LIV OTT platform.

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