Indian women's hockey team holds Australia to 2-2 draw

Agencies
August 18, 2019

Tokyo, Aug 18: The Indian women's hockey team came back twice from a goal deficit to hold world number 2 side Australia 2-2 in a hard-fought round-robin league match of the Olympic Test Event on Sunday.

Vandana Katariya (36th) and Gurjit Kaur (59th) scored for India to cancel out strikes from Kaitlin Nobbs (14th) and Grace Stewart (43rd) in their second match of the tournament. India had beaten hosts Japan 2-1 in their first match on Saturday.

World number 10 India began the match aggressively, matching Australia's attacking hockey with their own brand which saw both teams earn penalty corners. However, neither side managed to score.

But in the 14th minute, Australia were awarded a penalty stroke after an Indian defender blocked a shot at goal. Nobbs made no mistake in converting from the spot to give Australia a 1-0 advantage.

The world number 2 side dominated the second quarter completely, putting the Indian team under intense pressure through multiple attacks and penalty corners. But India's defence held firm and goalkeeper Savita made a couple of great saves to deny Australia who were 1-0 up at the half-time break.

The third quarter again saw Australia dominate possession and create a couple of goal-scoring opportunities through penalty corners. However, Savita again made fine saves to deny the Australians.

India struck on the break as Vandana Katariya finished off a superb move to equalise in the 36th minute. But the lead did not last long as Australia started to look for their second goal.

It was in the 43rd minute that Australia found their second goal through some exquisite teamwork, which saw Grace Stewart also registering her name on the score-sheet to give Australia a 2-1 lead.

It was a tough ask for the Indian team as Australia did not give them enough space inside the striking circle. However, the Indians showed determination as they kept looking for the equaliser in the last quarter.

With moves breaking down, and chances going waste, it looked like Australia would hold onto their 2-1 lead, but with just a couple of minutes remaining on the clock, India won a crucial penalty corner in the 59th minute.

And, prolific drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur stepped up and struck a sweet blow into the back of the net to earn India a well-deserved draw.

The Indian women's team will face China on Tuesday in their third and last round-robin match of the tournament.

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News Network
March 27,2024

IPLbettingsuicide.jpg

Bengaluru: Darshan Babu is an engineer who is fond of betting on cricket matches and has been placing major bets on Indian Premier League (IPL) games since 2021. He often borrows money after losing a bet, or to place one when he is short on funds. His 23-year-old wife, tired of the constant harassment by creditors, died by suicide.

Ranjitha was found hanging at her home in Karnataka's Chitradurga on March 18. According to the family, Darshan had racked up a debt of over Rs 1 crore.

He worked as an assistant engineer in the Minor Irrigation Department at Hosadurga and had been ensnared in the realm of IPL betting from 2021 to 2023. This took a major toll on the couple's finances. Allegedly, he had borrowed over Rs 1.5 crore to place bets after his luck ran out and he lost all his money. While he managed to return Rs 1 crore, cops say that he still has a pending loan of ₹ 84 lakh.

Ranjitha married Darshan in 2020. She realised the truth about Darshan's involvement in betting in 2021, claims her father Venkatesh.

In his complaint, Venkatesh said that his daughter was extremely distressed due to the constant harassment by moneylenders and this led to her suicide. He has also named 13 men who had allegedly lent the money.

He said that his son-in-law was lured into betting with a promise of quick money.

"He (Darshan) was not willing to get into betting, but the suspects forced him saying it was an easy way to get rich. They promised to finance his betting activities against some blank cheques as security," he said.

Cops during their investigation found a suicide note, where she detailed the harassment they faced. Darshan and Ranjitha have a two-year-old son.

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