Indian hockey eves lose 0-1 to local Dutch club in warm-up clash

The Indian women's hockey team slumped to a narrow 0-1 defeat at the hands of Ladies Den Bosch in a closely-fought match here last evening.

The Ladies Den Bosch, which consists of nine players who regularly turn up for the national squad, put the Indian team on the back foot when they won a penalty corner in the third minute.

But goalkeeper Rajani Etimarpu was up to the task to keep the Dutch women from taking an early lead. She saved yet another penalty corner in the 17th minute to end the second quarter in a stalemate.

For India, Vandana Katariya and skipper Rani made promising forays into the striking circle. The duo even came close to converting a goal on two occasions but the Ladies Den Bosch Goalkeeper made a diving effort to deny India a goal.

In the 33rd minute, a well-assisted Lieke Hulsken beat goalkeeper Savita, who replaced Rajani in the second half, to score a splendid field goal and take a 1-0 lead. Their defence line kept up the tempo in the following minutes of the match and kept a close check on the Indian forwards with good man to man marking to seal the match.