The Indian women's hockey team defeated South Africa 5-1 in the opening match of the four-game series.
The Indian female players who topped the rank for the most number of goals are Captain Rani (12'), Monika (20'), Navneet Kaur (24'), Gurjit Kaur (25'), and Sangita Kumari (30') whereas Quanita Bobbs (44') scored for South Africa.
Another diligent midfielder, Vaishnavi Vitthal Phalke who was chosen to start the match against South Africa, performed on the field as a senior player for the first time. She is a young athlete who directed the Indian women's junior team at the Uniphar U23 5-Nation Tournament in May.
Team India comfortably got their passing rhythm and dragged South Africa back into their half. Rani (12'), gave the Indian team the lead by converting a penalty corner to make it 1-0 which became a favorite to the Indian women's hockey team. After a splendid performance by the Indian team, the first quarter came to an end.
The next quarter also became a dominating match in the initial period and created opportunities for a win. As Monika (20') began her game, she quickly scored four more goals. After her outstanding move, Navneet Kaur (24') gently passed the ball into the net to make it 3-0 in favor of India.
After this, Gurjit Kaur (25') also showed her performance by converting a penalty to increase the Indian women's hockey team's lead while the South African players were facing a difficult time establishing themselves in the game. Sangita Kumari (30') was also expertise to pass the ball into the goal from a penalty corner right before the quarter came to a close which resulted in a good score. Team India got an emphatic 5-0 lead at the halfway break.
India kept their score high by a good amount of goals and continues their pressure on South Africa. In the third quarter, team South Africa gradually increased their performance as they started to retain their ball better.
Quanita Bobbs (44') expertly converted a penalty corner to make it 5-1 and managed to give South Africa a chance. After the third quarter ended, they began to showcase their strength, but team India looked secure with a 4-goal lead heading towards the final quarter.
The final round of the match began, where team India was to widen their lead while South African members tried their best for a win. The match ended with a score of 5-1 in favor of the Indian women's hockey team after both teams failed to score in the final quarter.
The next match will be on Tuesday again between the Indian women's hockey team and South Africa.
