<p>Valencia, Spain: Indian women’s hockey team suffered a 2-3 defeat to Spain in its opening match of the 5-Nation Tournament on Friday.</p>.<p>Gurjit Kaur (13th minute) and Sangita Kumari (14th) scored a goal each for India, while Sara Barrios Navarro (2nd), Patricia Alvarez Nardiz (30th) and Julia Strappato Garreta (53rd) were on target for Spain.</p>.<p>The Spanish side began the match aggressively and was rewarded for their effort with Navarro breaking the deadlock in only the second minute of the game.</p>.<p>Thereafter, India launched a counter-attack, pushing Spain back into their half and earning a penalty corner.</p>.<p>Kaur capitalised on this opportunity and unleashed a powerful flick to bring India back on level terms. Soon after, Kumari breached the Spanish defence to give India the lead. The first quarter ended 2-1 in India’s favour.</p>.<p>The second quarter saw a resilient Spain fight back and equalise through Patricia Alvarez Nardiz’s goal.</p>.<p>India and Spain continued to look for the goal that would give them the lead in the third quarter but the high-quality defence of both teams meant that the score remained at 2-2.</p>.<p>Spain finally broke the deadlock in the fourth and final quarter as Julia Strappato Garreta scored from a penalty corner, sealing the victory for her team.</p>.<p>The Indian team will next face Belgium on Saturday.</p>
<p>Valencia, Spain: Indian women’s hockey team suffered a 2-3 defeat to Spain in its opening match of the 5-Nation Tournament on Friday.</p>.<p>Gurjit Kaur (13th minute) and Sangita Kumari (14th) scored a goal each for India, while Sara Barrios Navarro (2nd), Patricia Alvarez Nardiz (30th) and Julia Strappato Garreta (53rd) were on target for Spain.</p>.<p>The Spanish side began the match aggressively and was rewarded for their effort with Navarro breaking the deadlock in only the second minute of the game.</p>.<p>Thereafter, India launched a counter-attack, pushing Spain back into their half and earning a penalty corner.</p>.<p>Kaur capitalised on this opportunity and unleashed a powerful flick to bring India back on level terms. Soon after, Kumari breached the Spanish defence to give India the lead. The first quarter ended 2-1 in India’s favour.</p>.<p>The second quarter saw a resilient Spain fight back and equalise through Patricia Alvarez Nardiz’s goal.</p>.<p>India and Spain continued to look for the goal that would give them the lead in the third quarter but the high-quality defence of both teams meant that the score remained at 2-2.</p>.<p>Spain finally broke the deadlock in the fourth and final quarter as Julia Strappato Garreta scored from a penalty corner, sealing the victory for her team.</p>.<p>The Indian team will next face Belgium on Saturday.</p>