India won the Asian Champions Trophy title, held in Rajgir, for the second time running by defeating China 1-0 in the final match. The Indian and Chinese teams could not score a single goal against each other in the first half. However, in the second half, India scored the winning goal and captured the trophy.
The Indians retained the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy Hockey title by outsmarting Olympic silver medalist China 1-0, thanks to ‘Golden Girl’ Deepika’s 11th goal in the tournament. Having won this title last year in Ranchi and in 2016 in Singapore, the Indian team displayed tremendous coordination and patience and kept the Chinese at bay.
This time, Deepika converted the penalty corner given to India in the first minute of the second half, spiking it home, which instilled great enthusiasm among the spectators present here in this packed Bihar Sports University Stadium.
In the first minute of the second half, India was given a penalty corner, with Lalremsiami receiving it. The first shot missed but the ball was inside the circle and deflected from Navneet’s stick and reached Deepika who put it inside the goal with a brilliant flick. India had a golden opportunity to double the lead in the third quarter itself but Deepika’s shot on a penalty stroke in the 42nd minute was saved by the Chinese goalkeeper by diving to the right.
Indian team dominated China in the finals of the Asian Champions Trophy
India also earned a penalty corner in the fourth quarter but the variation could not be fruitful. Till then, China was dominating the Indian team in terms of ball control from the initial minutes. In the first half, though the Indian team entered the Chinese circle eight times and the Chinese had the chance to attack only five times, it did not let the Indian players get the ball easily. Meanwhile, the Indian players were once again short of the finishing kiss.
This weakness of the Indian team could not convert even one of the 16 penalty corners in the semi-final against Japan. Again, it was noticed in the initial 30 minutes of the final when the four penalty corners it earned went to waste. India had an opportunity to score in the fourth minute when Sunelita Toppo went ahead with the ball alone from the right flank but her attempt was foiled by the Chinese goalkeeper.
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Both sides were at par with regard to penalty corners
In the third minute of the second quarter, China earned a penalty corner but Indian goalkeeper Bichhu Devi saved Tan Jhinzhuang’s shot by diving to the right and did not allow a goal to be scored on the rebound as well. On the other hand, the four penalty corners India earned between the 20th and 21st minutes turned into a complete waste of time. On the first, Deepika’s shot went over the goalpost while the second was saved by the goalkeeper and the third by the defender. A variation on the fourth penalty corner also failed.
China got a second penalty corner in the 23rd minute but the goal could not be scored. Three minutes before the break, India had a chance to open the account but Sharmila’s shot on Lalremsiami’s pass hit the bar and went out. In the third-place match, Japan defeated Malaysia 4-1.
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