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India finish 3rd, Germany champs
In a fiercely competitive game for the third place, Indian eves pipped Australia 3-2 in the 22nd Lal Bahadur Shastri U-21 hockey tournament on Saturday at the Major Dhyandchand national stadium here.
A resurgent India, playing with a combination of 4-4-2, played aggressively in the second half after missing out on several opportunities in the first half.
A forward line-up comprising of Poonam Rani, Anupa Barla, Navjot Kaur and Neha Goyal showed some excellent display of attacking and aggressive hockey.
For India, Barla scored twice (42nd, 65th minute) and skipper Poonam (37th) found the target once. Indians scored all the goals in the 2nd half.
For Australia, Brooke Peris (32nd) and Kate Gilmore (41st) scored two goals. Peris scored a nice field goal in to give the Kangaroos lead.
India coach BK Subramani praised his wards for beating a strong side like Australia.
“Australians are like European sides. They are physically strong and play fast-paced game. But our girls matched them and beat them. It’s an achievement,” he said after the match.
Kiwis lose final
In the final, Germany lift the cup defeating New Zealand 3-2. Both teams played a highly-competitive game as they were tied at 2-2 after 70 minutes.
For Germany, Dinah Frohlic (11th, 45th) scored both the goals, while Pippa Hayward (11th) and Julia King (43rd) found the target for Kiwis. But, Germany’s Cotton Natasha scored the golden goal to win it for Germany in the 75th minute.
