Perth, Oct 5 : India 'A' lost to Western Australia 1-2 in a Pool D clash of the Womens Australian Hockey League (AHL) here on Thursday.
Shanea Tonkin (13th minute) and Rachael Frusher (19th) scored for Western Australia, while Preeti Dubey struck for India 'A' in the 56th minute.
Though India got off to a steady start, Western Australia put them on the back foot with a 13th minute field goal by Shanea Tonkin fetching her team a 1-0 lead in the first quarter.
The score was further improvised when a defensive error in the circle saw India concede a penalty corner in the 19th minute. Frusher made no mistake with her drag-flick to make it 2-0.
After the 10-minute half-time break, India came back with a better defence structure to keep the Western Australia forwards from making easy forays into the striking circle. This worked as no goal was scored in this quarter.
India continued to keep up a good defence in the final quarter and did not allow the opponents to strike again.
India skipper Preeti came up with a fine field goal in the 56th minute to revive India 'A' hopes. But it was quite late as Western Australia defended well to win 2-1.
India 'A' will take on Northern Territory on Friday.
