Kakamigahara , The Indian Under-18 women’s hockey team lost in penalty shootouts to China in the semifinals to be knocked out of gold medal contention in the Under-18 Asian Championships here on Friday.
Result
After an intense and well-fought 2-2 draw over four quarters, the Indians lost 1-3 in the shootout. China defeated India 3-1 in the shootout courtesy of some brilliant saves by their goalkeeper Liu Xue. Nousheen Naz and Kiran Ekka scored the goals for India while Li ZeYan and Zhang Yuzheng sounded the board for China in the regulation time. Lu Tong Tong, Ge Chen and Guo Jiaxin converted their chances in the shootout for China while Sandeepa Kumari was the only player for India to score.
Key Moments
Three minutes later, however, China found the equaliser due to a defensive error by India, which China’s Li ZeYan capitalised on to level the game with a field goal. Despite multiple chances at both ends, the match remained tied at 1-1 as the teams entered the fourth quarter. The lead only lasted for a few minutes as India’s Kiran converted a penalty corner to equalise and it remained 2-2 at the end of regulation time.
India made a bright start in the first quarter, securing the opening goal in the third minute itself. Captain Sweety Kujur played a brilliant pass from the mid-field to Nousheen inside the circle who delivered a strong back-handed shot into the net to give India an early lead. China were awarded a penalty corner in the 21st minute but Feng Jiaxin’s drag-flick was saved by Indian goalkeeper Mahak Parihar. In the third quarter, India received consecutive penalty corners, but could not breach the Chinese post. The third minute of the final quarter saw China go ahead through a penalty corner. the ball went to China’s Zhang Yuzheng on the rebound, and she delivered a calm finish to give her side a slim advantage Although the initial shot was blocked by India’s first rusher.
