New Delhi: The India women’s national field hockey team battled to a 2-2 draw against the Scotland women’s national field hockey team in their second match of the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup Qualifiers 2026, maintaining their lead in Pool B of the tournament being held in Hyderabad.
With the result, both teams now have four points, but India remain at the top of the group due to a superior goal difference. India’s goals came from Navneet Kaur in the 18th minute and Sunelita Toppo in the 29th minute, while Scotland struck through Heather McEwan and Fiona Burnet.
Scotland took the early lead when McEwan converted a penalty corner in the sixth minute after India briefly lost their defensive shape. India responded by pushing forward and eventually found the equaliser in the second quarter. After a penalty corner attempt was not cleanly trapped, Navneet reacted quickly to smash the ball past goalkeeper Jessica Buchanan and bring the hosts level.
India gained further momentum before half time. Following a penalty corner that resulted in a rebound off the woodwork, Sunelita showed sharp awareness to tap the loose ball into the net, giving India a 2-1 lead at the break.
Scotland came back strongly after the restart. In the 33rd minute, a well worked passing move initiated by McEwan set up Burnet, who calmly finished to restore parity for the visitors.
The remainder of the contest saw both sides pushing for a winner. Scotland controlled possession for long spells, while India created several chances, including multiple penalty corners. Goalkeeper Buchanan produced crucial saves to deny the hosts, keeping the scores level despite sustained pressure.
India had opened their campaign with a convincing 4-0 victory over Uruguay women’s national field hockey team and will now face the Wales women’s national field hockey team in their next match.
In other fixtures of the day, Italy women’s national field hockey team defeated Austria women’s national field hockey team, while England women’s national field hockey team secured a 3-0 win over the South Korea women’s national field hockey team. Meanwhile, Uruguay registered their first victory of the tournament with a narrow 3-2 win against Wales in Pool B.
