India women’s hockey team lose their opener against Spain in five-match series
The Indian women’s hockey team were beaten comfortably by a scoreline of 3-0 at the hands of the Spanish team in their first match of their five-match series in Madrid yesterday. After Berta Bonastre opened the scoring in the sixth minute, Lola Riera scored a brace to win it for the Spaniards.
In the recently-concluded Women's Asian Champions Trophy, India finished runners-up with a silver medal after they lost the final to hosts South Korea. Post that tournament, the FIH announced a five-match tour to Spain in order to prepare for the upcoming 2018 Women's Hockey World Cup in London. Before the Indian team could depart for Spain, coach Sjoerd Marijne maintained that his side needed to focus on keeping a tight structure in order to stop the opposition from scoring.
But the Indian team played out a disappointing 3-0 defeat at the hands of the home at the Consejo Superior de Deportes Hockey Stadium in Madrid. The match was more or less a balanced affair between the two teams, but Spain managed to convert their chances into goals at the other end. Berta Bonastre began the scoring in the sixth minute before Lola Riviera scored a brace in the 48th and 52nd minute to secure an opening match win for the hosts.
The visitors had chances of their own but were unable produce clear goal-scoring opportunities. Skipper Rani Rampal had a glorious chance in the 14th minute but her shot at goal went wide of the target.
The Indians looked to find an