Hockey, FIH Junior World Cup: Indian women’s team go down fighting against Germany 1-3, quarterfinal hopes hang in the balance

But the relief wouldn’t last long. Goalkeeper Nidhi came forward to thwart a German forward and ended up taking a swipe that brought the opponent down and led to a Penalty Stroke that Lena Frerichs converted. After some end-to-end for the rest of the half, Nidhi was once more judged guilty of bringing a German player unfairly – even though India could have overturned the stroke if they had reviewed on time. But this time Frerichs hit it well over the crossbar.

India were just about in the game at halftime, trailing by a goal. After three quarters, the score remained 0-1, which kept India in the hunt to at least snatch a point. But a goalmouth scramble early in the fourth quarter led to Annika Schoenhoff being found in space at the far post. India had a couple of desperate attempts to clear the ball away but the German overload led to the all-important goal.

To India’s credit, they kept up the attacking pressure in the closing stages of the match, piling the pressure on German defence. A series of Penalty Corners eventually paid as India executed a superb PC routine. From a low hit at the top of the circle by Puja Sahoo, Hina Bano got her stick down in time to deflect the ball over the goalkeeper. Hina’s goal gave India some hope of snatching a late equaliser. But India’s PC defence was breached once more as Martina Reisenegger scored from close range after Nidhi made a sharp save to her left. The rebound fell kindly to Reisenegger, who still had a lot to do, and she shifted the ball side-to-side and then lifted it smarly into the net. It was the final blow to India’s hopes.

How can India still qualify for quarterfinals?

Germany’s 29 circle entries compared to India’s 11, and 9 shots on target versus 4, signified the difference between the two sides eventually. India simply didn’t find enough connections between the midfield and forward line. The defeat means India now have to hope they can beat Ireland, first of all to reach six points, and then hope to have a superior goal difference across all teams that finish second in the six groups. India’s goal difference after two matches is healty +11 but if any team reaches 7 points in the other groups, it could prove to be a further blow for Jyoti Singh’s side. As per this format, six group-winners automatically qualify for the last eight, while among the six second-place finishers, two best teams will complete the lineup.