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On Tuesday, November 19, Indian women took down Japan in the semifinal clash of the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2024. The hosts defeated Japan by a scoreline of 2-0 at the Rajgir Hockey Stadium in Bihar to register their berth in the final of the continental tournament. The hosts will now lock horns with the People’s Republic of China in the last match of the competition on Wednesday. China moved past Malaysia 3-1 in the other semi-final clash.
The reigning champions saw Navneet Kaur (48’) scoring the first goal for the Indian side from a penalty stroke. A few minutes later, in the 56th minute, Lalremsiami doubled their lead. The side is currently placed ninth in the hockey rankings and they had made it to the semifinal by securing the top spot in the league stage with an undefeated record in the five matches. Earlier in their clash, India took down their final rivals China 0-3.
India fail to convert any of 12 penalty corners in semifinals
The game saw India failing to convert any of their 12 penalty corners during the course of the game. Junon Kawai conceded a penalty stroke at the beginning of the fourth quarter, which pushed Deepika in the back in the circle. Navneet Kaur stepped up from the spot and sent a shot to the goalkeeper’s right to which the Japanese goalkeeper almost ended up saving, but since the shot was so powerful, it landed straight into the nets.
The second goal came within five minutes left in the game. Neha played Sunelita Toppo through down the wing and the square ball found Lalremsiami, who eventually finished it with Kudo taken out of the game by the cross. The hosts then conceded only two penalty corners throughout the game which they defended enough.
