The Indian women’s handball team began its Asian Games campaign on a losing note as it suffered a 19-36 defeat to Kazakhstan in their preliminary round match at Jakarta on Tuesday.
The Indians battled hard in the first period, trailing 13-19 but were outplayed 6-17 by its opponents in the second period of the Group A match. For India, Rimpi was the highest scorer with eight goals from just nine shots while Maninder Kaur netted three. Nidhi Sharma and Ritu scored two goals each.
For Kazakhstan, Dana Abilda scored eight goals while Olga Tankita got six. The difference in class between the two sides was evident as Kazakhstan got as many as 54 shots at goal to India’s 36. India will play South Korea in their second group match on August 16. The Indian men’s handball team had lost to Chinese Taipei 28-38 in its first group match on Monday.