India began their campaign in the FIH Women’s Hockey Nations Cup with an emphatic 3-1 win over Chile in a Pool B match in Valencia on Sunday.
Kumari Sangita opened scoring for India with a second minute strike before Sonika and Navneet Kaur added their names in the score sheet in the 10th and 31st minute respectively.
Villagran Fernanda pulled one back for Chile through a penalty corner conversion in the 43rd minute.
All the three Indian goals came from field efforts.
India play Japan in their second pool match on Monday. India had lost to Japan in the 2018 Asian Games final.
India play South Africa in their concluding league match on December 14. The knockout matches will be played on December 16 and 17.
The 2022 FIH Women’s Nations Cup is an important fixture in the international calendar as it brings in a promotion-relegation system. The champions from this event will be promoted to the 2023-24 FIH Hockey Women’s Pro League.