FIH Pro League 2021-22: Indian women's hockey team stun Argentina in a thrilling shootout

FIH Pro League 2021/22 (Pic Credit: Hockey India)
FIH Pro League 2021/22 (Pic Credit: Hockey India)

Indian hockey forward Lalremsiami and designated drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur stepped up as India stunned the 2021 Tokyo Olympics silver medalists Argentina in a shootout in the ongoing 2021-22 FIH Pro League in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on Saturday (June 18).

Both teams were tied at 3-3 at the end of regulation time where Lalremsiami (4') and Gurjit Kaur (37', 51') scored for India while Agustina Gorzelany (22', 37', 45') struck a hat-trick for Argentina.

The Savita Punia-led Indian women's hockey team were off to an aggressive start with rigorous penetration inside the circle in the opening minutes of the first quarter.

Four minutes into the match, Lalremsiami provided India with an early lead, mounting pressure on their opponents from the word go. Both teams held their nerves to play out a close contest in the first quarter.

The Argentinians fought back with consecutive penalty corners in the 6th minute. However, the Indians kept their opponents at bay.

The table-toppers counter-attacked and fetched a penalty corner in the 21st minute. The Indian defense stood tall to guard their opponents from scoring. However, after several efforts, Agustina Gorzelany grabbed the opportunity to find the equalizer in the 22nd minute of the match.

Both Neha and Salima Tete took chances in the middle, unfortunately failing to slip the ball into the goalpost. Moments later, team Argentina earned a penalty corner. Making no mistake, Gorzelany provided Argentina with a 2-1 lead in the 37th minute.

However, in no time, India found a much-needed equalizer through Gurjit Kaur in the 37th minute.

Gorzelany converted her team's eighth penalty corner to score her third goal in the 45th minute of the third quarter to hand Argentina a 3-2 lead in the match.

India's experienced drag-flicker Gurjit once again came to the team's rescue with a neat penalty corner conversion in the 51st minute to level the score at 3-3, taking the match to a thrilling shootout.

Neha Goyal and Sonika delivered with precision during the shootout for India, while Victoria Granatto was the lone scorer for Argentina as the scorecard read 2-1 after the shootout.

The Indian women's team are currently placed third with 24 points from 12 matches in the 2021-22 FIH Pro League points table behind Argentina and the Netherlands.

FIH Pro League 2022: Indian women's team's upcoming fixtures

Match: USA vs India

Date: June 21, 2022 Timings: 8:00 pm IST

Match 2: USA vs India

Date: June 22, 2022 Timings: 8:00 pm IST


FIH Pro League 2022: Streaming details

All FIH Pro League 2022 matches will be telecast live on Star Sports Select 2 and Star Sports Select 2 HD channels. Matches will also be available for live streaming on Disney+Hotstar.

Also read: Mohammed Raheel shares his experience following an outstanding FIH Hockey 5s tournament

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Edited by Akshay Saraswat