FIH Pro League 2024-25: Relegated India ends season with 2-3 loss to China
Indian women's hockey team lost 2-3 to China on Sunday in Berlin, concluding a disappointing FIH Pro League 2024-25 campaign which ended with the Salima Tete-led side being relegated from the competition.
Netherlands finished on top for the third season in a row with Argentina finishing second, Belgium third and China fourth in the points table.
India finished last amongst nine teams with 10 points in 16 games. It lost a total of 11 games while drawing three and winning just two.
The team, coached by Harendra Singh, will have to win the next edition of the FIH Nations Cup in order to return to the Pro League for the 2026-27 edition.
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Though it was an inspired performance by India, it was simply not enough to get the better of China. Goals by Ying Zhang (19', 30') and Xu Wenyu (53') helped China win while Sunelita Toppo (9') and Rutuja Dadaso Pisal (38') scored for India.
India made headway in the ninth minute when a pass from Neha Goyal to Sunelita Toppo led to a fine goal. The youngster from Odisha picked up the pass well, ran wide to create space and got a clear shot on goal.
In the 18th minute, China won a Penalty Corner (PC). Though there was no goal from this attempt, Deng Qiuchan was hit on the face by Indian defender Manisha Chauhan while she was trying to clear the ball. Quichan had to be taken off the field, and the on-field umpire handed China a penalty stroke which was appealed by India. The video umpire did uphold India's review and awarded a PC to China, which it promptly converted through Zhang.
China earned another PC towards the end of the second quarter. Zhang was spot-on yet again as she added another goal to her name, giving China a 2-1 lead.
India had its chance to equalise in the 37th minute when it won its first PC of the game. While the first attempt was blocked by the Chinese defenders, there was a back stick. Though the on-field umpire missed it, India took a successful referral and was awarded with another PC. This time, Navneet Kaur took the shot and tried a variation. The experienced Kaur passed the ball to Rutuja who was standing on the right flank. She got a perfect deflection to level the score.
In the final quarter, a relentless China finally found success in the 53rd minute when Xu converted a PC.
'This Pro League, we played attacking hockey. We need to continue to build on it. We have the World Cup qualifier coming up and our aim will be to do well there,' stated Indian captain Salima after the match.
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