A moment from India vs China match in Asia Cup 2022.
Highlight
- The Indians got off to a great start and earned some penalty corners and from one such position.
- In the 13th minute, Sharmila Devi scored from a rebound to give her team the lead.
- Down two goals China came out with more intent after a change of ends.
Last edition’s champions India finished a consolation third place by defeating China 2-0 in the Women’s Asia Cup hockey tournament here on Friday. The Indians let go of the disappointment of their semi-final loss to Korea and controlled proceedings in the first two quarters, scoring two goals in the process, going into halftime to take a 2–0 lead against China. However, he failed to score more goals in the second half.
The Indians started off brilliantly and earned a pair of penalty corners and from one such position, Sharmila Devi gave her team the lead in the 13th minute, goal from a rebound after Gurjit Kaur’s opening flick was saved by the Chinese defence. done. India continued the sequence in the second quarter as well and had better chances.
The Indians kept the pressure on the Chinese defense with relentless raids and secured another penalty corner in the 19th minute which Gurjeet converted with a brilliant drag-flick to make the scoreline 2-0. China responded swiftly, bagging a penalty corner which was brilliantly kept away by India’s captain and goalkeeper Savita Punia.
After trailing by two goals, China came out with more intent and tried to put pressure on the Indian defense but to no avail.
The Indians kept the pressure on the Chinese defense at the start of the fourth and final quarter but failed to create a clear opportunity. China earned a penalty corner 10 minutes ahead of time but the Indians defended in numbers to thwart any threat to their defence.
At the end of the match, China fought hard and scored three consecutive penalty corners with two minutes on the clock, but the final execution fell short as chances were wasted. Japan will face Korea in Friday’s summit.
Lack of match practice due to the COVID-19 pandemic after finishing a historic fourth at the Tokyo Olympics cost defending champions India as they performed inconsistently in crucial matches to crash out of the title race.
After beating Malaysia 9–0 in their first match, India suffered a 0–2 loss against Asian Games champions Japan and qualified for the semi-finals by defeating Singapore 9–1. But in the semi-finals, some poor defense and poor penalty corner conversion dashed India’s hopes as Korea beat them 2-3.
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