Women's Junior Asia Cup 2024: India go down to China in penultimate pool match

The Indian junior women’s hockey team faced their first loss in the tournament.

China defeated India 2-1 in a tightly contested third Pool A match at the Women’s Junior Asia Cup 2024 in Muscat, Oman. With three points won, China confirmed its spot in the semifinals as the Pool A winners. Jinzhuang Tan (32’) and Lihang Wang (42’) were the goalscorers for China. Deepika (56’) scored her seventh goal for the Indian junior women’s hockey team to lead the tournament’s goalscorer’s leaderboard.

The first quarter saw both sides attack aggressively on all fronts looking for an early opening goal. India created plenty of chances but wasn’t incisive enough in the shooting circle. Tushar Khandker’s side received an early penalty corner but their attempt on goal was saved by China’s strong backline.

China too received a penalty corner towards the end of first quarter. Jinzhuang Tan took a powerful shot on goal which was met by a crucial save by Nidhi, India’s goalkeeper to keep the scores level.

In the second quarter, India received two back-to-back penalty corners but couldn’t capitalise on the opportunity and score the first goal. After a tightly fought first half, both sides couldn’t be separated and headed back into their dugout with no goals scored. 

In the opening minutes of the third quarter, Xueling Zeng of China launched a dangerous counterattack as she dribbled past the Indian defence from the left wing and was ultimately brought down by Nidhi in the shooting circle and won a penalty stroke for her side. Captain Jinzhuang Tan stepped up to take the stroke and bagged the first goal with a powerful shot past Nidhi. 

China built on the momentum and created a plethora of chances after taking the lead. In the 42nd minute, China scored through a penalty corner as their top-scorer, Lihang Wang drag flicked the ball into the net to increase the advantage.

China enjoyed a two-goal lead heading into the final quarter and ended the game strong by dictating the tempo of the game and dominating possession. The Indian junior women’s hockey team gave a final push in the dying minutes of the match to get one goal back.

They won the ball in a crucial position and Kanika Siwach played the perfect pass to Deepika who scored a goal from close range. With that, India reduced the deficit but couldn’t manage an equaliser and lost the game 2-1.

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