Murcia: Indian women’s hockey team played a 1-1 draw against Spain in a gruelling second match of their tour on Sunday. After going down against the hosts in their opening encounter 2-3, India put up a spirited performance in a high-voltage second match.
While the first quarter ended in a stalemate, the second quarter saw India make a breakthrough with their first penalty corner of the match. The penalty corner was re-taken but it was well-saved by the Spanish goalkeeper.
The score continued to be 0-0 at half-time but Spain created a penalty corner opportunity soon into the third quarter. The Indian goalkeeper made an impressive save to deny the hosts. In the following minutes, India increased their tempo that resulted in yet another penalty corner which was brilliantly struck by drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur in the 43rd minute.
The 1-0 lead against the World Cup Bronze Medal winners didn’t last too long as a defensive lapse by India gave way to Spain who scored a beautiful field goal through Maria Tost in the 49th minute levelling the scores 1-1.
The final quarter remained intense with both teams taking their game a notch above and pushing for a winning goal.
But neither of them succeeded and the match ended in a draw.
India will play their third match against Spain on January 29.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]