Muscat: Sushila Chanu scored a brace as the Indian women’s hockey team made a grand debut at the FIH Pro League. They hammered China 7-1 in the first game of the two-leg tie here Monday. Chanu (47th, 52nd minutes) converted two penalty strokes. The other goals were scored by Navneet Kaur (fifth), Neha (12th), Vandana Katariya (40th), Sharmila Devi (48th) and Gurjit Kaur (50th). China’s lone goal was scored from a field effort by Xue Deng in the 43rd minute.
With the win, the Indian women’s hockey team moved to the third position in the FIH Pro League points table. They have three points and a goal difference of plus six.
The Indians got off to a flier when Navneet found the net from inside the circle in the fifth minute. India controlled the pace of the match from there on, but a rare circle penetration from China in the 10th minute earned them the first penalty corner of the match. However, skipper of the Indian team, Savita was up to the task in front of the goal to thwart the danger.
The Indian team kept up the pressure on the Chinese goal and were rewarded with their second goal in when Neha doubled the lead with a close-range strike. In the second quarter though, the eves created a number of chances, they failed to score.
After the change of ends, India extended their margin through Vandana. Trailing 0-3, the Chinese pulled one back three minutes later with Deng slamming one in from the right side.
The fourth and final quarter, however, was completely dominated by the Indian team. They pumped in four goals with Chanu getting two.
India will play China again Tuesday at the same venue.
