Ranchi, November 2: The Indian women's hockey team secured a convincing 5-0 victory against Korea at the Marang Gomke Jawaharlal Nehru Hockey Stadium here on Thursday in the ongoing Jharkhand Women's Asian Champions Trophy Ranchi 2023.
Salima Tete scored for the hosts in the sixth and 36th minutes, while Navneet Kaur also found the net in the 36th minute. Additionally, Vandana Katariya scored the team's fourth goal in the 49th minute, and Neha added the fifth goal in the 60th minute.
With five consecutive wins in five matches, India finished the group stage at the top of the table with 15 points in the standings.
Besides India, China, Japan, and Korea's teams have also successfully secured their places in the semi-finals. In the semi-final matches, India will face Korea, while China will take on Japan.
In the first match of the day, Malaysia defeated Thailand 2-0. For Malaysia, Noor Mohammad scored in the 25th minute, and Noor Yusaini added another goal in the 52nd minute.
In the second match, China defeated Japan 1-0. Bingfeng Jiyu scored the only goal for China in the eighth minute of the match. With three wins and two losses in five matches, China concluded the league stage with nine points. Thailand did not secure a single victory in five matches and faced defeat in all of them.
Malaysia finished the league stage at the fifth position with one win, one draw, and three losses, accumulating four points. Malaysia and Thailand did not qualify for the semi-finals and were eliminated from the tournament.
A total of six teams are participating in this tournament, playing on the basis of a round-robin league stage. Along with the host India, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand are part of the competition. After the league stage, the top four teams in the standings will qualify for the semi-finals. India is aiming for its first title since 2016. The Indian team has previously won silver medals in 2013 and 2018.
