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Chak De: Indian eves beat Poland to clinch World Hockey League round 2
Roelant Oltmans may be no Kabir Khan, but he achieved a feat as grand as his when Indian women's team beat Poland 3-1 in the final of the FIH World Hockey League Round 2 at Major Dhyan Chan stadium, New Delhi on Sunday.
Indian women's hockey team brought the movie 'Chak De' to life as they beat Poland 3-1 in the final of the FIH World Hockey League Round 2 at Major Dhyan Chan stadium, New Delhi on Sunday.
India were in control throughout the game and scored in three of the four quarters. Vandana Kataria, who ended as the tournament's top scorer with 11 goals, put India ahead in the 15th minute.
Poland's Oriana Walasek scored off a penalty to level scores at the start of the second quarter. Both teams went into halftime with the scores level at 1-1.
The stadium, which was practically empty for the first half of the game, saw plenty of flags, Indian and Polish alike in the second half. The Indian men's team captain Sardar Singh was present at the venue to cheer for the hosts.
Rani Rampal struck a stunning field goal in the 44th minute to put India ahead. Then on, India did not let go of their grip on the Polish and put up an all-round show.
The Indian defence was clinical and wasted no time in getting the ball back into the Polish court during their counter-attack. Defenders Deepika - who goes by her first name, Namita and Jaspreet were lightening quick during penalties and not only thwarted five goal attempts by the Polish, but were instrumental in India's final two goals.
India skipper Ritu Rani then celebrated her 200th international appearance by finding the net in the 59th minute to seal the title for her side.
India's domination in the tournament is evident from the fact that they scored 39 goals in the tournament while conceded only one.
Both India and Poland have earned a place in the Round 3 of the World Hockey League, which also happens to be the qualification round for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Meanwhile in the placings matches, Malaysia overpowered Thailand 3-0 to seal the third place, Russia thrashed Kazakhstan 9-0 to secure the fifth spot and Ghana outwitted Singapore 2-1 to avoid the wooden spoon.
