Santiago, Chile – Nidhi's stellar performance as goalkeeper proved decisive as India edged past Uruguay in a thrilling shootout at the FIH Hockey Junior Women's World Cup 2025. The match, held on Tuesday at the Centro Deportivo de Hockey Césped, Estadio Nacional, concluded with a 1-1 draw, leading to a nail-biting shootout where India triumphed 3-1.
The first quarter saw India dominating possession and creating several scoring opportunities. Uruguay, however, earned the first penalty corner in the fifth minute but failed to capitalize. In the 18th minute, India also secured a penalty corner, executing an intricate variation that saw Sakshi Rana's shot blocked by the Uruguayan goalkeeper.
Just a minute later, Manisha broke the deadlock with a powerful long-range shot that found the back of the net, giving India a 1-0 lead. Throughout the first half, India maintained control with 11 circle penetrations, while Uruguay adopted a primarily defensive strategy.
The third quarter mirrored the first, with India maintaining a high defensive line and pressing Uruguay into their own half. Despite their dominance in possession and circle entries, India was unable to extend their lead, failing to convert two successive penalty corners.
The final quarter witnessed a shift in momentum as Uruguay began to play with greater freedom, leading to end-to-end action. In the 49th minute, Uruguay won their second penalty corner, but India's goalkeeper, Nidhi, made a crucial save to preserve India's advantage. With just two minutes remaining, Uruguay replaced their goalkeeper with an outfield player in a bid to increase their attacking force. The gamble paid off when, with only two seconds left on the clock, Uruguay was awarded a penalty stroke, which Justina Arregui converted to level the score at 1-1 and force a shootout.
In the shootout, Purnima Yadav, Ishika, and Kanika Siwach successfully converted their attempts for India. However, it was Nidhi's heroics in goal, denying Uruguay on three occasions, that sealed the victory for India.
India's victory places them in contention for a ninth-place finish in the tournament. They will face Spain on Thursday in the 9th/10th place match. This win follows India's 3-1 victory over Wales in their previous qualification match, where Hina Bano, Sunelita Toppo, and Ishika scored. India had earlier finished second in Pool C, behind Germany, missing out on a quarter-final spot.
