On Tuesday, India’s women’s hockey team defeated Uruguay by a score of 3-1 in a penalty shootout to earn their chance to play for the ninth spot in the ongoing 2025 FIH Hockey Junior Women’s World Cup held at the Centro Deportivo de Hockey Césped, Estadio Nacional, Santiago.
The match resulted in a draw with intense competition from both teams. India’s Manisha and Uruguay’s Justina Arregui were the only goal scorers of their respective teams.
In the first quarter of the match, India took control of the game early and created multiple chances to score goals. But later in the 5th minute of the game, Uruguay got their first penalty corner but could not get a goal.
Later, entering the 18th minute of the game, India gets a penalty corner and tries to create an interesting variation. Sakshi Rana gets the ball and goes near the goal to make her shot, but gets blocked by the opponent’s goalkeeper. But India finds the way, and Manisha strikes with a powerful shot into the net. India got the lead over Uruguay by 1-0.
India dominated the match in the first half with eleven circle penetrations; meanwhile, Uruguay was defensive in their gameplay. Entering the third quarter, India played great defence and forced its opponent from entering their half to score. Despite the strategies, India failed to add another goal for the team. They managed to get two penalty corners in the third quarter but could not make it to their advantage.
In the final quarter, the game began with Uruguay playing a different approach. They were a lot freer this time. With that, they got their second penalty corner, but a save from India’s goalkeeper prevented them a goal. India was still in the lead.
With just the final two minutes left in the game, Uruguay switched their goalkeeper for an outfield player, and their decision paid off well. 2 seconds left on the clock, and they got a penalty stroke from Justina. The goal left the game tied, both teams at 1-1, which then saw them enter the penalty shootout round.
In the penalty shootout, India got three kicks from Purnima Yadav, Ishika, and Kanika Siwach, while Uruguay tried to score thrice but were denied by goalkeeper Nidhi, and got a single. India went on to win the match in the penalty shootout by 3-1.
India has their next match against Spain scheduled on December 11, where they will battle for the 9th or 10th place.
