Skipper Savita Punia produced an excellent performance under the bar as India defeated Ireland 2-1 in the shootout to set up a final clash against Spain in the FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup here on Friday.
In the regulation time, both teams were locked 1-1 after India bounced back through Udita’s 45th minute penalty corner conversion to cancel out Naomi Carrol’s 13th minute strike.
In the shootout, India struck through Lalremsiami and Sonika in their second and third attempts.
Ireland managed a solitary strike in the shootout from their third attempt through Hannah McLoughlin.
Savita stood tall under the bar and foiled Ellen Curran’s strike with her resolute defence as it went down the wires with Kathryn Mullan needing to score from their last attempt to keep them alive. But Mullan shot wide as India sealed another shootout win to make the final. Indian women’s team had beaten New Zealand by an identical margin in the shootout to win the Commonwealth Games bronze earlier this year.
