Perth: The Indian Women’s Hockey Team enjoyed a 1-0 victory over Australia in the fifth and final game of their Australia tour, at the Perth Hockey Stadium here on Sunday. Navneet Kaur (21’) scored the only goal of the match to ensure India ended the series on a strong note. In the first quarter, Australia dominated the play and won two penalty corners but India’s resilient defence denied them the opening goal. Six minutes into the second quarter, India clinched the lead courtesy of a field goal from Vice Captain Navneet Kaur. It was a cagey affair in the second half with both teams eyeing to score a goal but India held their composure at the back and successfully defended their slim lead. Final Quarter In the final quarter, Australia received a crucial penalty corner, however, they squandered the chance to equalise and handed over the victory to the visitors. After two losses against the Australia A side and two losses against the senior team, India bounced back well in the series with a positive win over the hosts on the final day. Earlier Match The Indian Women’s Hockey Team put up a spirited fight but lost 2-3 to Australia in the fourth game of their Australia tour, at the Perth Hockey Stadium here on Saturday. Scorers For India Navneet Kaur (35’) and Lalremsiami (59’) were the scorers for India, while Australia struck through Grace Stewart (2’), Jade Smith (36’), and Greta Hayes (42’) to edge a closely contested encounter. First Quarter In the first quarter, Australia struck first to take a 1-0 lead. The breakthrough came as early as the second minute when Grace Stewart found the back of the net. India worked hard to level the score in the remainder of the quarter but could not find the equaliser. Second Quarter In the second quarter, India successfully defended an early penalty corner and withstood another set-piece threat late in the period, keeping the deficit to a single goal at halftime. India fought their way back into the contest in the third quarter, when Navneet successfully converted a penalty corner in the 35th minute to level the scores.
