At the National Hockey Centre in Canberra, the Indian junior women’s hockey team lost to their U21 squad by a slim margin of 2-3 in their opening game of the Australia trip. India’s goals came from Lalthantluangi (47′) and Sonam (54′), whereas Australia’s goals came from Bianca Zurrer (36′), Evie Sransby (45′), and Sammy Love (59′). Both teams were unable to break the impasse in the close match, and the first half ended without a goal. Bianca Zurrer’s successful penalty corner gave Australia the lead in the 36th minute. Then, in the 45th minute, Evie Sransby gave Australia another penalty corner goal to increase their lead.
India recovered the match with two important goals to tie the score in the fourth quarter. Lalthantluangi first reduced the deficit in the 47th minute by converting a penalty corner, and Sonam then tied the score again in the 54th minute with a field goal. Sammy Love of Australia netted a penalty kick with just over a minute remaining to give his country a narrow victory over India. The young Indian team will play two further games on September 27 and 29 against the junior women’s team of Australia. On September 30 and October 2, they will play two games against Canberra Chill, a side in Australia’s top Hockey One League.
In a series of games that are vital to India’s preparations for the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup 2025, which will take place in Santiago, Chile, in December, the team is captained by Jyoti Singh and coached by Tushar Khandker. The young Indian team will gain important exposure from the tour, which will enable them to compete against elite teams and evaluate their abilities under international conditions. In June, the squad embarked on a similar tour in Europe, playing five games against Belgium, Australia, and the Netherlands. India demonstrated their might by defeating Belgium three straight, then winning against Australia and losing to the Netherlands in a heartbreaking shootout.