Relegated! Indian women’s hockey team suffers eighth straight loss, drops to Nations Cup after 2-3 defeat to China

The Indian women's hockey team suffered their eighth consecutive defeat in the FIH Pro League, losing 2-3 to China despite having an early lead. The loss confirmed India's relegation from the tournament, finishing at the bottom with 10 points from 16 matches.Following their last-place finish, India will now compete in the FIH Nations Cup, the second-tier tournament organized by the sport's global governing body.India's goals came from Sunelita Toppa in the 9th minute and Rutuja Dadaso Pisal in the 38th minute. China responded with two penalty corner conversions by Zhang Ying in the 19th and 39th minutes, while Xu Wenyu scored the winning goal.The match began with both teams showing signs of uncertainty. China had the first opportunity through Chen Yang, who failed to capitalize on the chance.India soon found their rhythm and took the lead when Sunelita Toppo received a pass from Neha Goyal and scored with a reverse hit. China earned their second penalty corner in the 11th minute but faced strong Indian defense.The Chinese team increased their offensive pressure and earned consecutive corners in the 18th minute. India maintained their defensive strength initially.A defensive error by Manisha Chauhan led to a penalty stroke being awarded to China. However, India's successful referral resulted in the decision being changed to a penalty corner.Zhang Ying successfully converted the penalty corner to equalize the score. China secured another penalty corner just before halftime, with Ying scoring again to take a 2-1 lead.In the 37th minute, despite Neha's attempt being saved by the Chinese goalkeeper, India earned consecutive penalty corners. Rutuja scored from a variation play assisted by Navneet Kaur to level the score at 2-2.India continued their attacking momentum and earned another penalty corner in the 40th minute, but China's defense held firm.China dominated the latter stages of the match, earning multiple penalty corners in the 48th and 50th minutes without success.The deciding moment came in the 53rd minute when China was awarded another penalty corner. Zhang's flick was deflected in by Xu, securing the victory for China.The result concluded India's campaign in the FIH Pro League, confirming their relegation to the Nations Cup for the next season.