Powerhouse hockey nations China and Korea have stormed to the top of the Pools at the 8th Women’s Asia Cup thanks to solid performances on Day 2 of the tournament.
China made it two wins out of two by defeating India 1-0, with Wang Mengyu’s 51st minute penalty corner being enough to put the Beijing 2008 Olympic Silver medallists at the top of Pool A. The result was enough to ensure China’s safe passage through to the Semi Finals. It was a good day for the host nation too, as Malaysia stormed to a 6-0 win against Hong Kong China to claim their first Pool A points. Malaysia netted once in the first half before adding a further five goals in the second period, with Rabiatul Adawiyah Mohamed proving to be the star of the show thanks to a hat-trick of penalty corners.
In Pool B, goals from Kim Jong Eun, Cheon Seul Ki and Kim Da Rae gave Korea a 3-0 success over Japan, a result that also proved to be enough to guarantee a Semi Final berth. Also in Pool B, Kazakhstan claimed their first win of the tournament thanks to a 3-0 victory over Chinese Taipei, with Aigerim Makhanova, Vera Domashneva, Alissa Chepkassova getting the goals.
Monday is a tournament rest day for the teams, with the action resuming on Tuesday. You can keep fully up to speed on all the action from the Asia Cup at the following locations:
Official website: www.8thwomensasiacup.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/8thwomensasiacup
Twitter: www.twitter.com/womensasiacup13
The winners of the Asia Cup competition will seal direct qualification to the 2014 Rabobank Hockey World Cup in The Hague, Netherlands. A number of the teams involved have already secured a spot at next year’s showpiece thanks to strong showings at the Hockey World League Semi Finals. If an already qualified nation becomes continental champion, this will open the door to the nations who finished outside the top three at the Hockey World League Semi Finals. To see who has qualified so far and exactly how they got there, you can see our simple guide by clicking the links below.
