MUSCAT: An impressive start marked the opening day of the FIH Women’s Hockey 5s World Cup (Sultanate of Oman 2024) as several teams registered victories and began on a bright note. Ukraine registered a strong start on Wednesday as they claimed two consecutive wins against Australia (6-3) and Zambia (9-0) in Pool B matches.
At Hockey Oman Stadium, Tanchenko Anna delivered an outstanding performance in the game as she netted three goals out of six. All of her goals came through field goals. Rest of the goals were registered by Shokalenko Kateryna, Rudychenko Valeriia and Movchan Veronika.
Ukraine ladies continued their top show in the following game as they crashed Zambia 9-0. Leonova Karyna was the star of the match as she scored four field goals. The other goals were netted by Movchan Veronika, Tanchenko Anna, Shyshyna Anastasiia and Rudychenko Valeriia. With the two victories, Ukraine raised their credit to six points and topped the group with goals difference than South Africa.
South Africa outclassed Zambia 9-1 in another clash for the same pool. The winning team produced a strong show in the opening round of the group matches. Marks Toni was the top player in the game as she hit three goals besides Van Wyk Marguerite and Phume Reabetswe who had two goals each.
In the next match, South Africa stunned Australia 6-3 in a thrilling encounter. It was a strong start for South Africa as they scored early with a Chamberlain Dirkie strike in the third minute. Then Van Wyk Marguerite doubled the lead while Phume Reabetswe and Marks Toni registered the other goals.
Oman women hockey players began their campaign in the event with a 10-0 loss against Malaysia in Pool A while Netherlands thrashed Fiji 14-1 in the same pool. The experienced Malaysian players entered the game with a target of three points and they managed to score 10 goals as they did not miss many scoring attempts. Muhamad Zati registered a hat-trick as she netted four field goals. Aziz Zafirah scored three goals while Mohd Qhairunisya struck two goals and Nazeri Dian scored one goal. Omani players worked hard to reduce the scoring gap but the rivals defence broke all the Omani attempts.
INDIA EDGE POLAND
India defeated Poland 5-4 in a tight clash in Pool C while United States began the tournament in perfect status as they beat Namibia 6-1. India's Mumtaz Khan put her team in the lead in the fourth minute while Deepika Soreng doubled the lead in the sixth minute before Julia Kucharska reduced the gap as she netted first goal in the 8th minute while Rybacha Marelna equalised and made it 2-2. Mumtaz managed again to return India into the lead to 3-2 but Paula Slawinska brought the match on parity as she made it 3-3. Soreng took the lead again for India but Monika bounced back quickly and made it 4-4 before Soreng scored the winning goal.
In the last Pool D match, New Zealand snatched a crucial 4-3 win over Thailand in a tight clash while Uruguay did not face any difficulty to end their game against Paraguay at 10-1.
The group matches will continue on Thursday as the toppers for each group will advance.
Sixteen teams are distributed into four groups. Pool A comprised from Fiji, Malaysia, Netherlands and the hosts Sultanate of Oman while Pool B featured Australia, South Africa, Ukraine and Zambia teams. India are clubbed in Pool C alongside Namibia, Poland and USA teams while Pool D grouped New Zealand, Paraguay, Thailand and Uruguay teams.
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