In the women’s Asian Champions Trophy, the Indian hockey team has entered the final after defeating Japan 2-0 in the semi-finals. Navneet Kaur and Lalremsiami scored goals for India and were instrumental in taking the team to the final. India will face China in the final. China beat Malaysia 3-1 in the semi-finals. In the match between India and Japan, no team could score a goal for the first three quarters.
India gave away 16 penalty corners
In the second minute of the fourth quarter, India got a penalty stroke after Deepika was obstructed by a Japanese defender, which was easily converted by Navneet. Five minutes before the final whistle, Lalremsiami electrified the crowd gathered at the Bihar Sports Complex stadium by converting a precise pass from Sunelita’s right. Japan got their only penalty corner of the match in the 59th minute, which Indian goalkeeper Bichu Devi did not allow to convert. India received 16 penalty corners throughout the match but failed to convert a single one and this will be a cause of concern for coach Harendra Singh ahead of the final against China on Sunday.
India created scoring chances early on.
The Indian women players controlled the ball for the most part and maintained control over the match. India created several scoring chances early in the match, but failed to score in the first three quarters. Captain Salima Tate had a golden chance in the tenth minute but she couldn’t get hold of the ball from the left. India got their first penalty corner in the second minute, which Deepika, who scored 10 goals in the tournament, failed to convert.
Neha Goyal showed a strong game
In the second quarter, India conceded three consecutive penalty corners in the 18th and 19th minutes, but Japan goalkeeper Yu Kudo should be praised for saving each of his quick shots. India’s experienced midfielder Neha Goyal played a brilliant game by carrying the ball inside the circle several times and also scored a penalty corner. They gave India their sixth penalty corner in the 20th minute, on which Deepika’s first shot was poor and Neha couldn’t get the ball in on the rebound. In the second minute, India got another penalty corner and Deepika failed again.
(Input: PTI)