PANAJI
Goans Hockey's difficult campaign in the Under-20 Women's Outdoor competition continued on Saturday with a 6–0 defeat against Hockey Bihar, leaving the Goa side without a point after three matches in Pool B.
The latest loss was their third in succession, following defeats against Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu and Hockey Uttarakhand.
Goans Hockey began their campaign on August 12 with a 5–0 defeat to Hockey Uttarakhand. They were unable to find the net in their second outing either, going down 4–0 to the Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu on August 14. Their struggles continued against Hockey Bihar on August 15, when Bihar recorded a convincing 6–0 victory.
Against Bihar, Goa were under sustained pressure and conceded six goals, with five coming from field play and one from a penalty corner.
Sidhi Kumari opened the scoring with a field goal in the 23rd minute before Khushi Kumari added another field goal four minutes later. Sidhi struck again in the 37th minute from a penalty corner, while Khushi scored a second field goal in the same minute. Khushi completed her hat-trick with another field goal in the 43rd minute and Kumari Anjali completed the scoring with a field goal in the 46th minute.
The gulf in penalty-corner opportunities was particularly striking. Hockey Bihar earned 14 penalty corners, compared with just one for Goans Hockey. Bihar converted one of those 14 opportunities, while the majority of their goals came through field play. Khushi Kumari was named the Most Entertaining Player of the Match.
The three defeats have left Goans Hockey at the bottom of Pool B with zero points and a goal difference of -15, having scored no goals and conceded 15. Hockey Karnataka currently lead the pool with nine points from three matches, while Hockey Bihar, Hockey Uttarakhand and the Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu occupy the other positions above Goa.
Goans Hockey have one match remaining in the pool, against Hockey Karnataka on August 17. Karnataka enter the fixture as the pool leaders, having won all three of their matches and scored 10 goals while conceding only one.
With qualification hopes severely damaged after three consecutive defeats, Goans Hockey will be looking to end their campaign on a positive note against the unbeaten Karnataka side. A victory would give Goa their first points of the tournament and provide some much-needed consolation after a difficult opening three matches.
