India women hold China 2-2 in Hockey World Cup opener

India women's hockey team held Olympic silver medallists China to a 2-2 draw in their Pool D opener at the Hockey World Cup in Amstelveen, Netherlands. Navneet Kaur scored in the eighth minute and Deepika Sehrawat made it 2-1 in the 26th minute, but China equalised through a penalty stroke by Zhang Ying and a penalty corner by Ma Ning. The match was a litmus test for India, who failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics but are rebuilding under coach Sjoerd Marijne.

Coach Marijne said the draw was important because a loss would have made the remaining group matches must-win. He also flagged a late incident where India were denied a penalty corner, having already exhausted their video referral. Hindustan Times and Mathrubhumi both reported that India played with 11 World Cup debutants. Former captain Viren Rasquinha noted the improvement from India's 0-4 loss to China in the 2023 Asian Games semi-final.

India next play South Africa on Tuesday. England top Pool D after a 4-0 win over South Africa, while India and China are level on points in second place.