Indian girls score 1st win in junior hockey WC, beat Kiwis 2-0

Monchengladbach: Indian girls kept their quarter-final hopes alive in the junior hockey World Cup with a 2-0 win over New Zealand, riding on Manjit Kaur and Vandana Kataria`s strikes in the second half, here on Sunday.

After a humiliating 1-6 drubbing in the first match against Australia, the Indian girls did a much better job on Sunday. After a barren first half, Manjit opened the scoring for India in the 45th minute with a field goal. Vandana doubled the lead six minutes later and that stayed with India till the end of the match. India`s next opponent in Pool C are Russia, who have lost both their matches so far, while Australia lock horns with New Zealand on Tuesday. Australia are on top of the table with six points from two wins, while New Zealand and India have three points each but Kiwis are placed second due to better goal difference. Top two teams from the group will qualify for the quarter-finals. PTI