India failed to make the final after its 1-2 loss to Germany in a keenly-fought match of the four-nation Lal Bahadur Shastri under-21 women's hockey tournament at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here on Friday.
Germany banked on penalty corner specialist Laura Saenger's brace (35th and 38th) to record a come-from-behind win. India had taken a 12th-minute lead through Jaspreet Kaur's penalty stroke conversion.
In the final on Saturday, Germany will take on New Zealand which defeated arch-rival Australia 3-2 in another close contest. India will face the Aussie team in the third-place playoff.
Keen tussle
Despite being taller and stronger than their Indian rivals, the German players had to play out of their skins to edge past the host.
Soon after Anupa Barla frittered away an easy chance in the eighth minute, India got a penalty stroke for a rough tackle on Navjot Kaur inside the German striking circle.
Jaspreet shot it to the top of the post to put India ahead.
Germany, with the focus on ball possession, kept the Indian defenders under constant pressure.
However, close marking and superb tackling by the home team foiled its attempts, including four penalty corners.
At the stroke of half-time, Germany was awarded another short corner and Laura's direct shot found the net to level the scores. “Their first goal was the turning point of the match,” noted India's chief coach B.K. Subramani.
The spirited Germans returned with a lot of enthusiasm and extended their lead. This time, Laura launched a low and flat shot off the sixth penalty corner.
India gave its best but the hard tackles by the Germans and some instances of debatable umpiring checked its momentum.
The home team created a few opportunities which included two short corners. Nevertheless, its search for an equaliser, which would have earned it a berth in the final, proved elusive.
On one occasion, captain Poonam Rani wasted a brilliant move when she could not beat the rival goalkeeper despite making a diving effort.
“We were lucky to win this match,” said German coach Marc Herbert.
His Indian counterpart Subramani blamed it on a combination of factors — the missed chances and some “errors” by the on-field umpires.
New Zealand made the best use of Natasha Cotton's double strike (18th, 19th) and Sian Fremaux's goal (52nd) to pip Australia. Brooke Peris (20th) and Penny Squibb (55th) led the Jillaroos' fight.
