Ranchi, October 30: The women's hockey teams of India and Japan recorded their third consecutive victories here at the Marang Gomke Jai Pal Singh Munda AstroTurf Hockey Stadium in the ongoing Jharkhand Women's Asian Champions Trophy Ranchi 2023 on Monday. India defeated China 2-1, while Japan beat Thailand 4-0. In another match, Malaysia held Korea to a 1-1 draw.
Ranked 7th in the world, the Indian team aggressively started their campaign against Asian Games 2023 gold medalist China, opening their account within the first quarter. Deepika scored the first goal for the host team through a penalty corner in the 15th minute. The second goal for the four-time Asian Games silver medalist Indian team came from midfielder Salima Tete's stick in the 26th minute as a field goal. However, China also scored a goal in the third quarter, with Jiayi Zhong finding the net in the 41st minute through a penalty corner. Despite a tough competition in the fourth and final quarter, the Indian team maintained their strong defense and secured a 2-1 victory, completing their hat-trick of wins.
This victory marked India's third consecutive win in the tournament. The host team now has nine points and is at the top of the points table with a strong position among six teams. Japan, with three consecutive wins, is at the second spot with nine points as well. Korea is in the third position, and China is at the fourth spot. Malaysia stands at the fifth position, and Thailand is at the sixth position.
Earlier, Japan continued their winning streak by defeating Thailand 4-0. Ranked 11th in the world, Japan's Mei Toriyama scored in the 29th minute, captain Yuri Nagai in the 34th minute, Kana Urata in the 35th minute, and Chiko Fujibayashi in the 50th minute, all through penalty corners.
Japan's victory against Thailand marked their third consecutive win, while Thailand faced its third consecutive defeat in the tournament. Thailand, ranked 29th in the world, has conceded 17 goals in three matches and managed to score only one goal so far.
In the previous day's match, Korea and Malaysia faced each other. Korea scored the first goal in the second half, in the 35th minute through Sio Suyong's penalty corner, taking a 1-0 lead. However, Malaysia quickly equalized, scoring 1-1 in the 58th minute through a penalty corner by Azahar Noor. Ranked 19th in the world, Malaysia is still searching for its first win after three matches. The team had faced defeat in its first two matches.
In this round-robin league stage tournament involving six teams, besides host India, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand, the top 4 teams from the points table after the league stage will qualify for the semifinals. India is aiming for its first title since 2016. The Indian team had won silver medals in 2013 and 2018.
