Meirong’s magic oversees spirted India melt down in the last quarter
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China defeat India second time in the FIH Proleague
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India and China dished out an entertaining and high-intensity encounter, befitting the final. India went into the lead within a minute from start, stunning the capacity crowd. It took enormous effort from the hosts to equalize which happened after 20 minutes. They took another 20 minutes to forge ahead through the blade of Lihong. Till then the ultimate champions were having a harrowing time with Indian midfield, defence and goalkeeper Bichu Devi doing excellent. However, the solo goal coming from Meirong Zhou unsettled (51st min) India which crumbled thereafter. The numbers do not do justice to the Indian team but that is the reality. Scoreboard counts.
Ever-reliable Navneet Kaur unleashed a withering shot off the third penalty corner that found home in the very first minute. Being only the second goal the Chinese would concede in Gonshu Sports Complex in Hangzhou, China, India was expected to go all out, which they did. They kept the Chinese on backfoot for the next 20 minutes though themselves were not moving the scoreboard.
Her goal, China’s third was a beauty. She stole the ball in the right flank, sprinted along the backline, and when faced two defenders, took a reverse dodge in a split second before whacking the ball to the left of otherwise alert goalie Bichu Devi. The goal would intimidate any rival, so were the Indians.
Ultimately India suffered a 1-4 loss against hosts China in the final. Navneet Kaur (1′) scored for India while Captain Ou Zixia (21′), Li Hong (40′), Zou Meirong (51′) and Zhong Jiaqi (53′) were the goals corers for the home team.
India made a strong start in the final by going ahead in the very first minute through a penalty corner which was converted by veteran forward Navneet Kaur (1′) with a powerful strike. A goal behind, China increased the tempo of the game and attacked with intent throughout the first half. In the fourth minute, they received their first penalty corner which was met by a goalline block by Sunelita Toppo followed by another save from goalkeeper Bichu Devi. In the 15th minute, China received another penalty corner but this time, they couldn’t get past India’s first rusher.
The trend followed in the second quarter with China winning another penalty corner in the 17th minute which was saved by Bichu Devi who again made a brilliant block in the 20th minute in open play. China won a penalty corner in the 21st minute but this time, Captain Ou Zixia (21′) successfully converted it to score the equaliser. Both teams headed into the break with scores tied and all to play for in the second half.
India started the third quarter strong as they limited China to their own half and made constant entries into the circle in search of the lead again, however, it was China that broke the deadlock. In the 40th minute, India received a penalty corner but they couldn’t convert it, giving away the ball to China as they launched a quick counterattack, catching India off guard. Li Hong (40′) made a strong solo run and struck a back-handed shot which beat the goalkeeper and found the bottom right corner of the net.
China increased the gap in the fourth quarter with two quick goals in the 51st and 53rd minute respectively. Ying Zhang played a crucial pass inside the circle to Zou Meirong (51′) who made a first-touch finish in front of the post to score the third goal. This was followed by a good run by Zhong Jiaqi (53′) from the right flank as she cut into the circle and slotted a shot past the goalkeeper to score China’s fourth and final goal of the evening.