Muscat, 14 December
Reigning champions India maintained their dominance with a 3-1 win over Japan here today to enter the final of the Women’s Junior Asia Cup hockey tournament. For India, Mumtaz Khan (fourth minute), Sakshi Rana (fifth minute) and Deepika (13th minute) scored in the first quarter, while for Japan, Nico Maruyama scored in the 23rd minute.
The opening quarter was one-sided for the Jyoti Singh-led Indian team. Sunalita Topo thwarted Japan’s drag flick chance by stopping a dangerous ball in the second minute of the contest. India took the lead after two minutes by taking advantage of the mistake.
A minute later, Sakshi Rana scored another field goal to put the defending champions up 2-0. India have learned a lesson from their defeat against China in the group match. With two minutes left in the first quarter, India got a penalty stroke which Deepika converted to take the lead to 3-0.
In the second quarter, Japan tried to break into the opposition zone on a few occasions, but a strong defense thwarted them. The Japanese players finally scored the first goal in the 23rd minute, reducing the gap. In the title match, India will face China, who beat last-round runners-up South Korea 4-1 in the other semi-final. -News-Patiala
