U18 Hockey Asia Cup: India women go down fighting in a shootout to China in semis
Kakamigahara, June 5
After an intense and well-fought 2-2 draw over four quarters, India women suffered a 1-3 defeat in a shootout against China in their semifinal of the U18 Asia Cup on Friday. Nousheen Naz and Kiran Ekka scored the goals for India while Li ZeYan and Zhang Yuzheng were the goalscorers for China.
India made a bright start in the first quarter, securing the opening goal in the third minute itself. Captain Sweety Kujur played a brilliant pass from the midfield to Nousheen (3') inside the circle who delivered a strong back-handed shot into the net to give India an early lead. Both sides did well in the midfield to create good opportunities inside the circle but couldn't find another goal in the opening quarter.
China were awarded a penalty corner in the 21st minute but Feng Jiaxin's dragflick was beautifully saved by Indian goalkeeper Mahak Parihar. Three minutes later, however, China found the equaliser due to a defensive error by India in the 24th minute, which China's Li ZeYan capitalised on to level the game with a field goal.
In the third quarter, China were awarded a penalty corner in the 34th minute but the Indian backline showed great resilience to deny them the opportunity to take lead. China held more of the possession in the following minutes but couldn't break the deadlock.
In the 43rd minute India received consecutive penalty corners, but could not breach the Chinese post. Despite multiple chances at both ends, the match remained tied at 1-1 as the teams entered the fourth quarter.
The third minute of the final quarter saw China go ahead through a penalty corner. Although the initial shot was blocked by India's first rusher, the ball went to China's Zhang Yuzheng (48') on the rebound, and she delivered a calm finish to give her side a slim advantage.
However, China's lead only lasted for a few minutes as India's Kiran (54') converted a penalty corner to equalise and it remained 2-2 at full-time, with shootout to decide the winner.
China defeated India 3-1 in the shootout courtesy of some brilliant saves by their goalkeeper Liu Xue. Lu Tong Tong, Ge Chen and Guo Jiaxin converted their chances in the shootout for China while Sandeepa Kumari was the only player for India to score in the shootout.
The second women's semi-final will be played between Japan and Korea. India will take on the loser of that match for the bronze medal on June 6.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Close game! That shootout defeat is tough to take, especially after forcing extra time in the 54th minute. But the future looks bright for Indian women's hockey. Just need to work on converting penalty corners more consistently. Go girls! 🙌
Great effort from India! The defensive errors in the first half cost them, but they showed real character to equalise twice. Hopefully they learn from this and come back stronger for the bronze medal match. Well played, girls!
Disappointing but not disheartening! Our junior girls are showing the same fighting spirit as the senior team. Shoutout to captain Sweety Kujur for that brilliant assist. Bronze on the line tomorrow—let's take it! 🏑💪
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.