FIH Women's Nations Cup 2022: India beat Ireland 2-1 in a penalty shootout and now face Ireland
The Indian women's hockey squad defeated South Africa 1-1(2-1) in the semifinal clash of the 2022 FIH Women's Nations Cup campaign at Estadio Betero in Valencia, Spain, on December 16
Indian women's hockey players' race to the FIH Hockey Pro LeagueIndia are now just one match away from qualifying for the 2023-24 FIH Hockey Pro League after edging past Ireland in the shootout.
Within the regulation time, Udita, in the 44th minute, scored for India, while Carroll Naomi, in the 14th minute, scored for Ireland.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">India book their spot in the finals of FIH Nation's Cup after winning in the shootout 🤩<br><br>IND 1:1 IRL (SO 2:1)<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HockeyIndia?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HockeyIndia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IndiaKaGame?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IndiaKaGame</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FIHNationsCup?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FIHNationsCup</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CMO_Odisha?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CMO_Odisha</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/sports_odisha?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sports_odisha</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/dpradhanbjp?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dpradhanbjp</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Media_SAI?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Media_SAI</a> <a href="https://t.co/XSyoRkR9y5">pic.twitter.com/XSyoRkR9y5</a></p>— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheHockeyIndia/status/1603796182089990144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 16, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
India had firm control of the ball throughout the game, but Ireland were the one leading owing to an early goal scored by Carroll Naomi in the early moments of the opening quarter.
The Indian women won 11 penalty corners in the game. However, the Irish goalkeeper Elizabeth Murphy was at the top of her form and denied India the equalizer.
India finally equalized the score in the 44th minute after a flat shot by Udita bounced off the stick of Elizabeth Murphy into the Irish goal.
The match was forced into a shootout, and then Sonika and Lalremsiami slotted the ball into the net for India. At the same time, Mcloughlin Hannah was the lone goalscorer for Ireland in the shootout.
Indian goalkeeper Savita was the star of the game. She made three excellent saves in the shootout against Ireland to give India a shot at qualifying for an opportunity to win the trophy.
After the victory, the player of the match, Navneet Kaur, said, "I am thankful for the player of the match award, but I think it belongs to Savita today for that incredible performance in the shootout. It was a difficult game against Ireland, especially conceding early in the game, but we kept fighting and got the win I think we deserved."
India will lock horns with Spain in the 2022 FIH Women's Nations Cup championship clash on December 17. Ireland will also face Japan in the tournament bronze medal match on the same day.