HOCKEY INDIA LEAGUE | Gorzelany’s strike the difference as Tigers edge Royals

And on Sunday, the occasion presented itself as the Tigers managed to eke out a 1-0 win in the eighth Women’s Hockey India League fixture of the 2025-26 season at the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Stadium here.

Perhaps the strategy of a fourth new captain in as many matches worked. Sushila Chanu wore the captain’s hat in the first 3 p.m. fixture of the league; she is the latest addition to the list after Vandana Katariya, Agustina Gorzelany, and Valentina Raposo.

Or it had to be the sheer brilliance of Gorzelany, the tournament’s highest goalscorer, with four against her name after this fixture.

Shrachi Bengal Tigers player Agustina Gorzelany is mobbed by teammates during the Hockey India League (Women) match against Ranchi Royals at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Ranchi, Jharkhand, on Sunday, January 04, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
R.V. MOORTHY

The video umpire was made to work for her keep with four referrals inside the first quarter. Although each of those decisions went in favour of the home side and the Royals ended up winning five penalty corners in the stop-start first quarter, the Tigers’ resolute defence ensured the deadlock wasn’t broken.

Meanwhile, a controversial call saw Nikki Pradhan and Co. being denied a penalty stroke despite an on-target shot catching Valentina Raposo’s toe behind Tigers’ goalkeeper Jennifer Rizzo.

From the second quarter, the Tigers had a sudden glow-up.

Lalremsiami almost got on the board, slipping away from her marker with under a minute remaining in the first half. But the Royals’ second keeper, Madhuri Kindo, forced the sprightly Indian forward wide in a one-on-one scenario.

It was eventually left to Gorzelany to do the noble deed once again. The Argentine dragflick specialist justified her price tag — she is the most expensive signing at ₹42 lakh — getting the Tigers the much-needed breakthrough from a run-of-the-mill penalty corner in the third quarter.

The result: Shrachi Bengal Tigers 1 (Gorzelany 37) bt Ranchi Royals 0.