Sport - Hockey

India, Azerbaijan set up title clash

— Photo: Sandeep Saxena

STRIKE FORCE: India’s Ritu Rani is about to score the equaliser against Azerbaijan.

NEW DELHI: India put up its best display so far to share points with Azerbaijan from a 1-1 draw in the Lal Bahadur Shastri Cup four-nation women’s hockey tournament at the Shivaji Stadium here on Tuesday.

The two teams will meet again in the final on Wednesday.

Azerbaijan ended the round-robin programme with seven points while India, with two draws and a win, had five points.

Azerbaijan, ranked 15th in the World, just two rungs below India and with half-a-dozen players of Korean origin in its ranks, was expected to pose a stiff threat to the home team. It had impressed in its two previous matches while India had laboured.

But as things turned out, India dominated the exchanges and should have won without much trouble but for missing chances.

India was a goal down at the break. “We need to improve our forward play,” Chief Coach, G.S. Bhangu, said.

The strategy of an all-out attack by pushing Mamta Kharab more into the front from a withdrawn position in the second-half worked well for India.

There was a touch of assurance and cohesion in the movements up front with pivot Subhadra Pradhan willing to work right up to the rival circle.

A sustained spell of Indian attacks in the first quarter of the second half mattered little to alter the scoreline, but the Azerbaijan defence was softened up.

Kharab produced a reflex flick after a Ranjita Thockchom run on the left, had a hard-hit centre that saw Saba Anjum lunging and missing and then contributed to the penalty corner that Ritu Rani earned only to see nothing come out of it.

The Indians kept up the pressure and the equaliser came nine minutes from the end. A Rani-Anjum one two opened up the defence and the former was in perfect position at the centre to slot home.

Rani, Kharab and Anjum continued to trouble the rival defence till the end.

“I give full credit to the Indian team,” Azerbaijan Coach, Tahir Zaman, former Pakistan Olympian, said. He added that his team had not played to the game-plan that he had devised.

Speedy in its counter thrusts, Azerbaijan could not get too many field chances, thanks to a stout display by Suman Bala and Pradhan in defence, but it did score off its first penalty corner in the 15th minute through Mi Kyong Aliyeva. Two other penalty corners were wasted. Zhun Mammadova won the ‘player of the match’ award.

Later, in an inconsequential league match, Italy beat Malaysia by a lone first-half goal. Daniela Possali, the scorer, in the eighth minute, was eventually adjudged the ‘player of the match.’ Italy scored its first points after two defeats, while Malaysia had drawn with India in the opener before suffering two defeats. The teams will play off for the third place.

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