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India survived a sustained second-half onslaught and conceded 12 penalty corners before holding England to a goalless draw on Thursday at Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen, securing a place in the second phase of the FIH Women’s World Cup.
India needed only a draw to advance after entering the match with four points. It had opened its campaign with a draw against Olympic silver medalist China before earning three points with a commanding 6-1 victory over South Africa.
England, meanwhile, had three points from its lone victory against South Africa and needed an outright win to remain in the tournament.
India finished second in the pool with five points, while China claimed the top spot with six points after defeating South Africa 5-1 earlier in the day. England ended its campaign in third place with four points.
The result came a day after the Indian men advanced to the second phase with an emphatic 5-3 victory over Pakistan. England also progressed from India’s men’s group after winning all three of its matches.
The Netherlands and Pan-American champion Argentina are among the other teams to advance in the men’s competition. England and the Netherlands will carry three-point advantages into the second phase because of their earlier victories over India and Argentina, respectively.
India faces Argentina and the Netherlands in the next stage of the men’s tournament. The Indian women will begin their second-phase campaign against the Netherlands.
Against England, the Indian women started positively and earned three penalty corners within the opening 10 minutes. However, inaccurate shooting and an inability to capitalize on rebounds prevented India from taking the lead.
India earned its first penalty corner in the fourth minute. Navneet Kaur found the target, but the effort was disallowed for obstruction. Four minutes later, India won another penalty corner, but the resulting shot went wide. A third opportunity followed, with the attempt again missing the target.
England received its first penalty corner in the 10th minute following a stick infringement, but it was unable to convert. The opening quarter ended without a goal.
India earned its fourth penalty corner in the 26th minute, but the opportunity produced no result. England then won two consecutive penalty corners, neither of which broke the deadlock, and the first half ended goalless.
India continued to attack during the opening minutes of the second half and earned two more penalty corners. Navneet pounced on a rebound and sent the ball into the net from one of those opportunities, but the goal was disallowed for undercutting.
The momentum shifted sharply after that decision. India adopted a defensive approach as England increased the pressure and earned eight penalty corners in the second half.
Goalkeeper Bichu Devi produced an impressive performance, repeatedly denying England and helping India protect the scoreless draw. The Indian defense remained composed under pressure and successfully executed its plan of preventing England from finding the decisive goal.
India’s best performance at the Women’s World Cup came in the inaugural edition in 1974, when it finished fourth. The team had not previously progressed beyond the league stage under the tournament’s earlier league-cum-knockout format.
The new format features 16 teams divided into four pools of four, with the top two teams from each pool advancing to the second league-cum-knockout phase.
