The Indian women’s hockey 5s team beat South Africa 5-2 in their final Pool A match to advance to the quarter-finals of the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires.
The Indians finished in the second spot in their pool with 12 points, behind leaders Argentina.
Mumtaz Khan (2nd, 17th minute), Reet (10th), Lalremsiami (12th) and Ishika Chaudhary (13th) scored in India’s convincing victory over South Africa on Thursday as the team ended the pool stages on a winning note after Wednesday’s defeat to hosts Argentina.
India took the lead inside two minutes as Mumtaz Khan scored off her first shot. Both the teams had their chances in the first period and it was South Africa’s turn to make the most of the opportunity as they scored the equalizer in the 10th minute through Kayla de Waal.
However, India’s Reet made sure that her team went into the half-time break with a 2-1 lead as she scored with just five seconds left before the end of second period.
The start of the second period saw India’s Mumtaz Khan force two saves off the South African Goalkeeper Mishka Ellis, but it was Lalremsiami who benefited from the constant pressure as she scored India’s third goal in the 12th minute.
Iskika Chaudhary also registered her name on the score-sheet as she popped up in the 13th minute to extend India’s lead to 4-1, while Mumtaz Khan scored her second of the match in the 17th minute to make the scoreline 5-1 in India’s favour.
South Africa tried to make a comeback into the match in the dying stages but could only pull a goal back in the 19th minute through Angela Welham, as India registered their fourth win in five matches to secure the second spot in Pool A.
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