Canberra, Sep 26 (IANS) The Indian junior women’s hockey team suffered a narrow 2-3 loss in their first match of the Australia tour against their U21 side at the National Hockey Centre in Canberra on Friday. Lalthantluangi (47′) and Sonam (54′) were the goal scorers for India, while Bianca Zurrer (36′), Evie Sransby (45′), and Sammy Love (59′) scored goals for Australia.

The first half remained goalless as both sides couldn’t manage to break the deadlock in the tight contest. In the 36th minute, Australia found the opening goal through a successful penalty corner by Bianca Zurrer. Australia then extended their lead with another penalty corner goal, this time courtesy of Evie Sransby in the 45th minute.

In the fourth quarter, India bounced back in the contest with two crucial goals to equalise. First, in the 47th minute, Lalthantluangi converted a penalty corner to reduce the deficit, followed by a field goal by Sonam in the 54th minute to level the game again. With just over a minute left on the clock, Australia’s Sammy Love scored through a penalty corner to edge out a slim win over India.

The young Indian squad will play two more fixtures against the Australia junior women’s team on September 27 and 29, followed by two matches against Canberra Chill, a club playing in Australia’s premier Hockey One League, on September 30 and October 2.

The team is led by captain Jyoti Singh and coach Tushar Khandker in what is a crucial set of matches in terms of India’s preparations for the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup 2025, set to be played in December in Santiago, Chile.

The tour will provide valuable exposure for the young Indian squad, allowing them to test their skills in international conditions against strong teams. The team played a similar tour in Europe back in June, where they faced Belgium, Australia, and the Netherlands over five matches. India showed prowess as they defeated Belgium three games in a row, followed by a win against Australia and a bitter shootout loss against the Netherlands.

–IANS

bsk/