India lose 0-2 to England in Women's Hockey WC Qualifiers final, but qualifies for WC

HYDERABAD: India lost 0-2 against England in the final of the FIH Women's Hockey World Qualifier but still managed to progress to this year's mega-event, to be co-hosted by the Netherlands and Belgium, here on Saturday.

World No. 6 England scored through a penalty corner conversion by Grace Balsdon in the 13th minute before doubling their lead through a field strike from Elizabeth Neal in the 43rd minute.

The Indians, ranked ninth in the world, tried their heart and soul throughout the entire 60 minutes but failed to break the resolute English defence.

Besides champions England, runner-up India and Scotland, who defeated Italy 1-0, qualified from this event for the World Cup.