Hockey: India dealt very late heartbreak by Australia, Harendra Singh gets the start he wants but not the finish

India made a bright start to the game as they won three back-to-back penalty corners in the very first minute, adding pressure on the Australian backline. They carried on that momentum and scored the opening goal as early as the third minute to take charge of the match. Navneet Kaur carried the ball forward and passed it to Sharmila Devi on the left who played it to the far post for Vaishnavi as she deflected the ball into the net in what was a fine flowing move. India continued to pile on the pressure as Navneet came close to extending the lead but narrowly missed the target. Minutes later, Australia won two back-to-back penalty corners towards the end of first quarter but India did well at the back to maintain their lead.

Australia improved their performance in the second quarter and started creating good goal-scoring chances. Both sides exchanged possession and battled it out in the midfield, with India taking a lead into half time.

Australia were more dominant in the third quarter and caused troubles for the Indian defence. Greta Hayes came teasingly close to scoring a goal as she struck a shot towards an empty net, however, she hit the ball at her own teammate in a case of friendly fire. In the 37th minute, Australia were on the attack again but this time, they managed to find the equaliser courtesy of a brilliant goal from Lawton who did well to win the ball from an India defender and then unleashed a powerful shot from the edge of the circle, past the keeper into the bottom right corner.

The scores were level as both sides headed into the final quarter of the match. India received a penalty corner but the Australian keeper made a strong save to keep her side in the contest. In the 54th minute, India won four penalty corners in a row but they couldn’t manage to find the net. In their third attempt, Neha fired a shot which took a deflection and struck the post, missing the net by a few inches.

But the Penalty Corner non-conversion came back to haunt them. With 34 seconds left on the clock, Australia converted a set piece routine to complete their comeback. Tatum Stewart played the perfect pass instead of taking a shot at goal, and Pickering took the Indian goalkeeper Bichu Devi off-guard and deflected the ball into the net to claim all three points.

India next play Argentina on 17th June 2025 at the same venue.