India ended a disappointing 10th in the FIH Junior Women's Hockey World Cup after being handed a 1-2 defeat by Spain in their final classification match here.
Kanika Siwach (41') was the sole goal-scorer for India, while Natalia Vilanova (16') and Esther Canales (36') netted one each for Spain at the Centro Deportivo de Hockey Cesped in the 9th/10th place playoff.
It was a cagey yet entertaining first quarter as Spain were through on goal with only the goalkeeper to beat, but India's Nidhi heroically stepped out and made two back-to-back saves to keep the scores level.
In the 14th minute, Spain were awarded the first penalty corner of the match, which was again denied by Nidhi. In the early moments of the second quarter, Spain launched a quick counterattack as Sara Carmona Ramos dribbled skilfully around the circle and played a pass inside, which was successfully deflected by Natalia Vilanova (16') into the net to claim the lead.
India had a couple of bright chances in the following minutes, but Spain hardly made any mistakes and didn't give any penalty corner to maintain their advantage. In the 36th minute, India had a brief moment of celebration as Sonam did well to intercept a pass and score with a powerful strike. However, the goal was cancelled after Spain took a successful video referral.
Unfortunately for India, in the same minute, Spain won and converted a penalty corner, thanks to a flick from Canales as they increased their advantage to two goals. In the 41st minute, India won two successive penalty corners as Siwach beat the Spanish goalkeeper with her strike and delivered a goal for India to reduce the deficit and conclude an eventful third quarter.
In the last quarter, India upped the intensity, pushed ahead in numbers and gave it their all to create maximum chances and test Spain's goalkeeper. They came extremely close to scoring again as Ishika unleashed a powerful backhand shot that beat the goalkeeper. However, it was stopped by a defender on the goal-line, denying India the equaliser. Thereafter, Spain fell back and ensured they defended their slim lead till the clock ran out.
Also read: India beat Argentina, clinch FIH Men's Junior WC bronze
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