Amstelveen:The Indian women’s hockey team advanced to the second round of the FIH World Cup after being held to a goalless draw by England in their final Pool D match here on Thursday, surviving a dozen penalty corners and late pressure.

India, who needed only a draw to progress, finished second in the pool with one win and two draws from three matches. China topped the group after beating South Africa 5-1 earlier in the day.

The result, however, masked a below-par performance from India, who struggled with passing, ball control and penalty-corner execution. They earned six penalty corners but failed to convert any, with Deepika and Navneet Kaur unable to make their opportunities count.

India’s goalkeepers Savita Punia and Bichhu Devi stood out, particularly as England earned as many as 11 penalty corners during the match. Bichhu produced the crucial save with just 30 seconds remaining, diving to her left to deny England and preserve India’s qualification.

India and China will carry one point each in the second round. India started aggressively and earned three penalty corners in the opening 15 minutes. Their first chance came in the fourth minute when Sunelita sent the injection, but Navneet’s attempt appeared to have gone in off Ishika’s stick, resulting in the goal being disallowed.

Navneet’s attempt from India’s second penalty corner went wide before Deepika failed to find the target with the third.

England responded with counter-attacks and earned their first penalty corner in the 10th minute. Sunelita produced an excellent save to deny Sophie Hamilton’s drag-flick, while Jyoti cleared the danger.