The Indian women's hockey team fought through a tough battle in Birmingham to defeat Canada 3-2, securing their place in the 2022 Commonwealth Games semifinals. By finishing second in Group A with a record of three wins and one loss (against England), India is now poised to face powerhouse Australia on Friday, as long as England avoids a catastrophic defeat against Wales by nine goals or more.
Salima Tete set the tone early with a goal in the third minute, followed by strikes from Navneet Kaur and Lalremsiami. On the Canadian side, Brienne Stairs and Hannah Haughn provided the goals that kept their team within striking distance at the Squash Centre.
With a trip to the semifinals at stake, India started the match with an explosive offensive run that nearly resulted in an immediate goal. Their pressure led to the first penalty corner of the match just three minutes in. Although Gurjit Kaur's drag-flick was initially stopped, Salima Tete pounced on the rebound to give India the early lead. India maintained this momentum, utilizing creative wing play to keep the Canadians under constant pressure.
Canada began to find their rhythm in the second quarter, coordinating their passing to penetrate the Indian defense. However, just as they matched India's intensity, a defensive lapse in the 22nd minute proved costly. Lalremsiami intercepted the ball and delivered a precise pass to Navneet, who tapped it into an empty net to double the lead. Canada responded almost instantly, utilizing a penalty corner to narrow the gap; their star scorer, Brienne Stairs, beat the Indian goalkeeper to make it 2-1.
Canada managed to cut the lead back to one through a penalty corner in the very next minute. Stairs, one of Canada’s prolific scorers, found a way past the Indian keeper and brought her side back into the game.
The second half started slowly, but Canada managed to equalize in the 39th minute. Following a penalty corner, Hannah Haughn fired a shot from the left that deflected off the Indian keeper and into the goal, bringing the score to 2-2.
India regained control in the final 15 minutes, dominating ball possession and showing great mental strength. Exploiting a gap in the Canadian defense, Lalremsiami stepped up to score the decisive winning goal. India spent the remainder of the game attacking and maintaining a strong defensive line to ensure Canada couldn't claw back into the match.