Rani Rampal & Co miss out on big victory as they concede late goal to settle for 1-1 draw against No. 2-ranked England in hockey World Cup opener
India's Deepika Thakur (right) battles with Lily Owsley of England in London on Saturday. Pic/Getty Images
India produced an impressive display before conceding a late goal to play out a 1-1 draw against World No. 2 England in their opening Pool 'B' match of the women's hockey World Cup here on Saturday.
Neha Goyal gave India the lead in the 25th minute before Lily Owsley equalised from a penalty corner in the 54th minute. World No. 10 India punched above their weight and gave England a run for their money in the keenly-contested duel. Rani Rampal-led India matched higher ranked England stick for stick in the opening two quarters even though the hosts had more scoring chances with five penalty corners coming their way.
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'Keeper Savita shines
But the Indian defence was up to the mark with goalkeeper Savita Punia stealing the limelight with some brilliant saves to keep England at bay. While India looked promising on open play, the home team kept on earning penalty corners. England earned their first penalty corner inside 32 seconds of the game and then another in the eighth minute but on both occasions the Indian defence kept a tight vigil to keep their goal out of danger.
150th match for Toppo
Meanwhile, midfielder Namita Toppo completed her 150 international caps on Saturday. Toppo made her international debut in 2012.
India men's team beat NZ to lead in Test series
Bangalore: The Indian men's hockey team registered its second successive victory against New Zealand, beating the visitors 3-1 to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match Test series here on Saturday. Rupinder Pal Singh (18th minute), SV Sunil (27th min) and Mandeep Singh (56th min) scored for India, while Stephen Jenness (24th min) netted one for New Zealand.
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