Kakamigahara (Japan): The Indian women’s hockey team continued their splendid run and came up with an impressive performance to stun defending champions Japan 4-2 in the semifinal of the Asia Cup hockey tournament, here Friday.
Goals from Gurjit Kaur (seventh, 10th minutes), Navjot Kaur (ninth) and Lalremsiami (38th) ensured India’s entry into Sunday’s final where they will face China. In a group encounter earlier in the tournament the Indian eves had beaten China 4-1.
Against Japan, the Indians got off to a rollicking start by earning back-to-back penalty corners to put pressure on the host nation. Dragflicker Gurjit converted the second with a rasping drive which beat Japanese goalkeeper Akio Tanaka hands down.
Two minutes later, Navjot doubled India’s lead when she struck a field goal from a perfect assist by forward Vandana Katariya. Almost immediately after, India won a penalty corner and Gurjit was yet again on target as she gave India a commanding 3-0 in no time.
India won another penalty corner in the first quarter but this time Tanaka made a fine save.
While the first 15 minutes belonged to India, the defending champions made a strong comeback in the second quarter. Japan unleashed a well-coordinated attack on the Indian defence and found space for Shiho Tsujii to score past custodian Savita in the 17th minute.
The next few minutes saw India’s defence put to test by the Japanese. Yui Ishibashi gave India jitters when she scored another field goal to close the gap to 2-3 in the 28th minute.
From there on, the Indians needed to play cautiously and not make impulsive decisions. This was exactly what they did after the 10-minute break.
While Savita made a brilliant save to deny Japan from a penalty corner at the start of the third quarter, Lalremsiami scored a sensational field goal in the 38th minute to extend India’s lead to 4-2. She broke free down the right and sprinted past two Japanese players and beat the advancing Tanaka with a deft placement.
The final 15 minutes of the match continued to remain tense as Japan won two penalty corners but Savita stood like a rock in front of the goal to deny the hosts.
Press Trust of India
