India finish 7th in FIH Women Champions Challenge 1 hockey

NEW DELHI: India came from behind to beat Azerbaijan 3-1 and finish seventh in the FIH Women Champions Challenge 1 Hockey Tournament at Dublin, Ireland on Sunday.

Saba Anjum (44th), Chanchan Devi Thokchom (49th) and Anuradha Devi (68th) were the goal scorers for India, while Zhang Suleymanova was on target for Azerbaijan in the 28th minute.

Both teams were lethargic in the first half of the match, with scoring chances being few and far between.

The only goal of the first half came on a penalty stroke in the 28th minute when Azerbaijan’s Zhang Suleymanova scored on India’s Yogita Bali.

However, India, who had trounced Azerbaijan 6-1 in their earlier round robin Pool match, came out stronger in the second half and immediately started pressuring the opposition.

Their efforts were rewarded in the 44th minute when captain Saba Anjum put in the only field goal of the game to even things up.

Five minutes later winger Chanchan Devi Thokchom gave the Indians their first advantage with the 2-1 penalty corner goal.

The one-goal lead stood for another 20 minutes, but India were never really in a danger of surrendering the game-tying goal. But for good measure Anuradha Devi put in an insurance marker with two minutes left in regulation to bring the final to 3-1.