The 12th-placed Indians might be ranked six rungs above Chile (18) in world rankings, but they were given a run for their money by their South American rivals in the seventh-eighth place classification match.
The Indian girls had to sweat it out to overcome a goal deficit and tame Chile after Camila Caram had given the South American side the lead in the 44th minute through a penalty corner conversion.
Chanchan Devi Thokchom scored the winner for India in the 56th minute from a goalmouth melee.
Chile got chances galore to draw level as they earned quite a few penalty corners in the closing phases of the match, but they failed to convert a single opportunity to finish last in the eight-team tournament.
The Indian men's team will face Spain tomorrow in the fifth-sixth place play-off match.