Black Sticks coach Mark Hager was also impressed with the improvement compared to day one. However he had every right to point out more was still required - particularly with the exit plays, where too many turnovers were conceded, and at penalty corner time where three attempts weren't converted.
Another positive for Hager was the fact North Harbour striker Kirsten Pearce, with her broken thumb from day one, remains the only player on his injury list.
Outstanding Chinese striker Xiaoxue Zhang opened the scoring with a field goal in the 12th minute. Two minutes into the second quarter the Black Sticks equalised when striker Gemma Flynn put away a clever backhand pass from fellow striker Sophie Cocks and the score remained 1-all until the interval.
The Chinese were being pinged for fouls more often than they liked and it was while Qiong Wu and Jiaqi Li were on the sideline with yellow cards that the Black Sticks pounced. Earlier Yang Peng had been green-carded and Hawke's Bay defender Emily Gaddum's green card in the 21st minute was the only time a Black Sticks player was punished.
Cocks put the hosts ahead in the 42nd minute with a field goal after a superb pass from Flynn. Five minutes later Flynn got her second when she secured a loose ball and beat the Chinese keeper Dongxiao Li with ease.
Speaking through team liaison officer and interpreter James Guan after the game, China captain Qiuxia Cui said reducing the foul count will be a major priority for her team during the remainder of the week.
"Every foul is a player less and that creates a huge problem."
Cui was also disappointed her team didn't capitalise on enough of their scoring opportunities. They had six shots on goal, two less than the Black Sticks.
"We value these matches. New Zealand is one of the strongest teams in the world and we learnt a lot," she added.
Canterbury striker Olivia Merry scored the Black Sticks' only goal against India. During the last quarter of this game the Kiwis had six shots on goal whichwere not turned into points.
Meanwhile the Irish eyes were smiling after Ireland, the world's 15th-ranked team, beat 13th-ranked India 4-0 last night. Ireland had lost 4-0 to China the previous day. Other round two fixtures saw Japan beating Canada 6-2, defending champs Australia bouncing back from their 1-all draw with Japan the previous day to beat Korea 2-0, and Japan walloping Canada 6-2. However, the new kids on the block from ice-hockey country had no respect for the cup script when they toppled South Korea 2-1 in the opening pool A clash.
