Ranchi, November 4: The final match of the Jharkhand Women's Asian Champions Trophy 2023 will be played between India and Japan. Both teams secured their places in the championship match by winning their respective semi-final matches held on Saturday at the Birsa Munda AstroTurf Hockey Stadium here.
In the first semi-final, Japan defeated China 2-1, while in the second semi-final, India beat Korea 2-0. China and Korea will now compete for the bronze medal. Malaysia secured the fifth position by defeating Thailand 1-0. The final and bronze medal matches will take place on Sunday.
The Indian women's hockey team made a fantastic start to the match and took a 2-0 lead within the first half. Salima Tete scored the first goal for the host team in the 11th minute as a field goal.
Following that, Vital Vaisnavi Fakke converted a penalty corner into a goal in the 19th minute, doubling India's lead.
In the second half, both teams had a tough competition, but neither managed to score, and India maintained its 2-0 lead, securing their spot in the final.
In the first semi-final, Kana Urahta scored in the 34th minute, and Miyu Suzuki scored the second goal for Japan in the 44th minute. The only goal from China was scored by Tiantian Lou in the 11th minute.
In the match for the fifth position, Malaysia defeated Thailand 1-0, with Nurmaizatul Syafi scoring the only goal in the early minutes.
In this tournament, featuring six teams, including the host India, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand, the round-robin league phase was followed by the top 4 teams qualifying for the semi-finals. India is seeking its first championship title since 2016. The Indian team had previously won silver medals in 2013 and 2018.
