New Delhi: Indian eves did a world of wonders to their confidence before the Olympics qualifiers when they beat Azerbaijan 3-0 in the opening match of the four match test series being played here at the National Stadium in the Indian capital on Sunday.

India who led 1-0 at half time took the lead through Anuradha Devi(19th minute) and followed it up with two penalty corner conversions by Soundara Yendala (51st minute) and Joydeep Kaur (61st minute). India started their match on a rather cautious note and were defensive in their approach, but as the match progressed they shifted the momentum and started to attack. They were successful in their endeavor and drew the first blood in the 19th minute through Anuradha Devi off a penalty corner. Before the lemon break the hosts got one more chance to score but could not succeed.

After the change of ends, India started from where they left and in the 51st minutes, Soundarya Yendala just nudged and scored off an indirect penalty corner to take a 2-0 lead.

Pushed to the wall, Azerbaijan tried to make some inroads, but Indian defenders foiled their efforts. Eight minutes before the final whistle, India hit the final nail in the coffin when Joydeep Kaur scored from a set piece to make the score line 3-0.

Rajorshi Moitra

Indian Sports News