Junior Women’s Hockey World Cup 2025: India Beat Wales 3-1 In 9-16 Classification Match
India beat Wales 3-1 in their 9-16 classification match of the Women’s FIH Hockey Junior World Cup 2025 at the Centro Deportivo de Hockey Césped, Estadio Nacional in Santiago, Chile, on Sunday.
Hina Bano (14’), Sunelita Toppo (24’), and Ishika (31’) scored for the Indian women’s hockey team, while Eloise Moat (52’) netted the lone goal for Wales.
India began the game on the front foot, asserting themselves on the opposition with a penalty corner in the first 30 seconds.
India created opportunities at regular intervals but could not find the opening goal early.
Wales had the opportunity to get their noses in front with a penalty stroke but were denied by Nidhi as she made a sharp stop to keep the scores level.
India eventually managed to break the deadlock towards the end of the first quarter, courtesy of a tap-in from Hina Bano after some neat work by Sakshi Rana.
Looking to double their advantage, India maintained the pressure with another penalty corner at the start of the second quarter.
India continued to create chances regularly and were rewarded for their persistence, doubling their lead after Sakshi Rana’s initial shot fell to Sunelita Toppo, who made no mistake from close range.
With 14 circle penetrations in the first half, India held a 2-0 lead at the break.
India extended their lead to 3-0 early in the second half as Ishika found the back of the net after a rebound from the Welsh goalkeeper fell her way.
Jyoti Singh’s side controlled the tempo of the game, stretching the Welsh defence by playing between the lines and pressing high, while remaining disciplined and compact at the back.
India continued to create chances, pushing Wales back in their own half to close out the third quarter and also dominated possession in the final period.
Wales had an opening on the other end and Eloise Moat made it count, pulling one back for her side. However, that only proved to be a consolation goal as India held firm to secure a well-deserved 3-1 win.
India will next play Uruguay in their next Junior Women’s Hockey World Cup match on Tuesday.
Earlier in the group stages, India finished second in Pool C behind Germany and missed out on a place in the quarter-finals.
Six group winners and two best second-placed hockey teams qualified for the final eight.
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