The world’s 12th ranked Indian women’s hockey team started their campaign in Australia by beating 4th ranked Australian team, the Hockeyroos. India has won the first match of the three test matches to be played. This win is very important and the women team would cherish this victory for a long time, for having beaten Australia for the first time.
The winning goal came off Rani Rampal’s stick through a penalty corner, the captain of the women’s team in the 21st minute which gave the Indian girls the lead. The match kept the spectators engrossed as both the teams fought it out till the last moment of the match. Credit needs to be given to both the teams for playing such a fantastic match. This being said, the Indian girls can be very proud of themselves for the kind of aggression and team-effort displayed in the match.
“It was a really satisfying first half, I think we played well. It feels good to do well against higher ranked teams, “said the Captain, Rani Rampal after the match. India’s midfielders played splendidly by passing the ball superbly towards their skipper, Rani Rampal and Deepika Thakur. Rani in the entirety of the match led from the front, with her aggression and precision in all aspects of the game. The continuous pressure and the skill applied by the Indian team did not let the Hockeyroos break India’s defense and thus handed the Indian women team the victory.
The next match is scheduled to be played on the 25th November , followed by the third and final Test on 27th November. The last face-off between Team Australia and Team India was in the Rio Olympics which the former won by a huge margin of 6-1. This may have been playing in the Indian girls mind at the starting of the match. But this win would have boosted their confidence and removed any doubts about their talents.
