Women's Indian Hockey team beat the host Malaysia by 3-0 n the opening game of the five-match series in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday with the help of Striker Vandana Katariya who score two goals.
Vandana scored goals in the 17th and 60th minutes, while Lalremsiami scored in the 38th minute. Malaysian got a penalty corner in the third minute but Indian captain and goalkeeper Savita saved him from the pitch. Lalremsiami shot was saved on the Malaysian goal in the 5th minute.
The 2-0 lead put India in a comfortable position in the fourth quarter and the visitors increased their lead just seconds from the final hooter through Vandana.
Two minutes after Navneet Kaur's attempt failed. After this India also got a penalty corner but the goal could not be reached. India was successful in the 17th minute after the first quarter were rounded off when Vandana scored field goals.
After this, the Indians performed a good rapport and the defense looked a bit too tight. In the 38th minute, Lalremsiami scored the second goal for India. The second match of the series will be played on Saturday.
The eight-day tour of India is being led by ace goalkeeper Savita along with Deep Grace Ekka as the Vice-Captain.
"Always raising the bar is not easy, that demands discipline and taking responsibility. That ownership is again one of the main areas I would like to see our team improve. Our challenge is not our opponent but always ourselves," said Indian women's hockey team's chief coach Sjoerd Marijne.
The last time India met Malaysia in a big event was at the 2017 Asia Cup, where it won 2-0 in the round robin league before winning the title in a tense final against China.
"It is difficult to say how they play as we have not played against them in a while but the last time I saw Malaysia was during the Asian Games in Jakarta and that is a while ago. From what I saw there, they like to play long aerial balls and like to defend with a lot of passion," Marijne said.
The matches between the two countries will take place every alternate day, starting Thursday. The final match of the series will be played on April 11.
