Canada and India both came into the match in search of their first win. For India, the disappointment of losing to Spain last evening seemed to weigh heavily on the minds of the athletes as they prepared for the first quarter.
After soaking up a pile of pressure from a rapidly passing India forward line, Canada ran to the other end of the pitch and ended up with the ball past India’s net. Unfortunately, the whistle was blown for a penalty corner, and Natalie Sorriso was forced to optimize her effort as the injection was off target.
Canada got better a few minutes later as they won another penalty corner. This time the variation created confusion among the Indian defence, and after the ball pinged to Kathleen Leahy, she slipped it to Madeline Secco, who got the final touch.
At the start of the second quarter, India again came out stronger. Monika, in particular, was using her 3D skills to get past the Canadian defence. In the Canada goal, Rowan Harris urged her team to maintain focus.
India began to pour energy into their attacks as the game moved towards half-time. Navneet, Neha, and Vandana were now all moving with freedom, and Canada was very much on the back foot.
After the break, India continued to pile on the pressure, with Lalremsiami making some speedy forays into the Canada circle. The North American side held firm, with Sara McManus and Hannah Haughn putting in some profound shifts breaking down the India attacks. This was particularly impressive from Haughn, who is only recently returned from an ACL injury.
With four minutes left in the third quarter, Canada was content to absorb the pressure and wait for a chance to break through. For India, there was more disappointment in their game as they failed to build ties that would convert their superior possession into a crucial target. There were two minutes left in the third in the penalty corner, which saw a shot from Grace saved by Harris and India’s second chance came and went.
From Kandian’s perspective, the fourth quarter was tiring and tense as the team faced wave after wave of Indian pressure. As Navneet and Tete Salima started running on the Canadian defence, Carly Johansson, McManus, and almost every member of the Canadian team dug deeper to defend their 1-0 lead.
There was more disappointment for Gurjit Kaur when she could not convert a series of penalty corners. The shots had all the usual power, but they flew wide or chased down Sorriso, Canada’s number one runner.
In the shoot-out, Canada shot into a 2-0 lead and goalkeeper Harris made some crucial saves but India hauled them back to 2-2. After 14 attempts by the two teams, it was a classy finish from Neha that finally gave India the win and a place in the 9-12th place play-offs, where they will meet Japan. Canada will now face Korea in the 13-16 place matches.
Player of the Match Kaur Navneet (IND) said: ‘It was a very hard match. Savita was brilliant, she saved a lot of shoot-outs, as well as some good saves in the match.’