Birmingham, Aug 3:
The Indian women’s hockey team survived some anxious moments before beating lower-ranked Canada 3-2 in its must-win Pool A match to qualify for the semifinals of the Commonwealth Games here on Wednesday.
The Indians looked in control of the match till the 22nd minute, having taken a 2-0 lead over their world no.15 opponents through goals from Salima Tete (3rd minute) and Navneet Kaur (22nd).
But the Canadians, then, produced a lion-hearted performance to level the scores through goals from Brienne Stairs (23rd) and Hannah Haughn (39th).
With England already assured of a semifinal berth from the pool with a 3-1 win over India on Tuesday, it was a do-or-die match for the Savita Punia-led side, with Canada needing just a draw to progress as they had a better goal difference.
Locked 2-2, Janneke Schopman’s girls responded brilliantly when Lalremsiami scored off a rebound, after a penalty corner in the 51st minute. (PTI)
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