Rajgir (Bihar): India beat Japan 3-0 to top league stage and qualify for semifinals of the women's Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Rajgir, Bihar.
The tournament's highest scorer Deepika (47th, 48th minutes) scored a brace, while vice-captain Navneet Kaur broke the deadlock for India in the 37th minute.
Deepika's brilliance in action! 🚀
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) November 17, 2024
A goal that leaves the crowd in awe and the opposition with no chance#HockeyIndia #IndiaKaGame #BharatKiSherniyan #BiharWACTRajgir2024 #WomensAsianChampionsTrophy
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.@CMO_Odisha @IndiaSports @Media_SAI @sports_odisha @FIH_Hockey… pic.twitter.com/tVIUKLIOgt
With five wins in as many games, India topped the points table with maximum 15 points ahead of Olympic silver medallists China (12).
India will take on fourth-placed Japan in the semifinal on Tuesday, while China will play third-placed Malaysia in the other last-four game.
India dominated the possession from the start and were aggressive in the first quarter. Despite being good on the ball, they failed to score past their opponents.
Japanese goalkeeper Yu Kudo displayed immense patience and game sense deserves a lot of credit for keeping the scoreline 0-0 as she kept pulling off saves. In the second quarter, Kudo came up with three back-to-back saves to stop India from taking a lead.
Like they did against China, India turned the game around after the half-time break. After winning a free hit just outside the circle, Navneet collected the ball from Lalremsiami, entered the circle and produced a solid reverse hit to beat Kudo as India took a deserving lead in the match.
In the final quarter, India earned a few penalty corners and despite missing the chances, Deepika managed to score twice in the 47th and 48th minute. Both her dragflicks had power behind the ball as Japan's hopes were crushed with quickfire goals.
In other matches of the day, Malaysia beat Thailand 2-0 while China defeated South Korea by identical margin.
