India win women's hockey bronze
MIL/Agencies, Dec 14, 2006.
Doha, December 14, 2006 - Indian women hockey players made some amends for the dismal show of their male counterparts by bagging the bronze medal in the Asian Games women's hockey event by beating South Korea 1-0 in the third place play-off on Wednesday.
Mamta Kharb produced the match winner in the 16th minute of the contest to seal the fate of the Koreans in a fast-paced encounter at the Al-Rayyan stadium.
The Indians, who had lost to Korea in their last league match, did well to score an early goal and latch on to the slender lead till the hooter to ensure that they did not return home empty-handed.
The only goal of the contest came when Mamta converted a penalty corner, much to the delight of the Indian contingent which desperately needed a win to boost their overall medal haul from the Games.
The Indians gave a fine exhibition of defensive play and superb counter-attacks and kept the strong Korean forward line at bay right through the match.
The Indians, in fact, could have won by a bigger margin had they not muffed a few scoring opportunities that came their way.
The bronze medal victory also ensured that India qualified for the Beijing Olympics.
Indian captain Jyoti Sunita Kullu said that the players were determined to put it across Korea.
"We wanted to go all out in this match and we had a penalty corner success. For this match, our team had sworn to get the bronze because then we would qualify for the finals. It is a great thing for women's hockey in India," Kullu said.
Full Story: http://sport.indiatimes.com/India_win_womens_hockey_bronze/articleshow/807073.cms
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