It might have been just a mere formality, but India had to wait longer than they had hoped to know whether they would be playing against China in the title clash of the Women’s Asia Cup. Playing the first of the two Super 4s matches on Saturday, India controlled the flow for large parts against Japan, but came undone by a late equaliser and could only manage a 1-1 draw, meaning they were dependent on the result of China vs Korea. As hard as Korea tried, China came through with a 1-0 win and kept their perfect tournament record intact. And so it will be India vs China in the final on Sunday in Hangzhou.
The two teams have taken contrasting paths to the match on Sunday, which will not only crown the Asian champion but also earn automatic qualification for the 2026 Hockey World Cup in Belgium and Netherlands. China have efficiently dismantled each of their opponents, scoring 38 goals and conceding just one. India, on the other hand, have drawn twice against Japan (2-2 in the pool stage) and been beaten 4-1 by China.
The Super 4s draw on Saturday against Japan – with Beauty Dungdung (7’) scoring in the first quarter and Shiho Kobayakawa (58’) equalising late on for the Japanese – was somewhat against the grain for India. Coach Harendra Singh likes his team to play fast-paced attacking hockey, and while they did that for the most part, they also exercised a fair bit of caution after taking the early lead. It was understandable because India were guilty of making mistakes in their previous outing against China, conceding avoidable goals when pushing for a winner. While they did have enough chances to extend their lead against Japan, it wasn’t all all-out attack. They respected the match situation and defended sturdily.
The opening goal itself was beautifully worked by India. Sharmila Devi picked up a loose deflection in midfield and released Neha. The midfielder drove the side forward and played a good reverse pass to Mumtaz Khan down the right. Mumtaz’s first touch was superb as she opened her shoulders just enough to take the ball past the defender and moved into the circle. Her shot across the goal was powerful enough, but as such, the brilliant Yu Kudo might have had it covered. But Beauty had taken up a good position in front of goal, and stuck her stick out in time to get the vital deflection that lifted the ball over Kudo. It was transition hockey at its very best.
In the second quarter, Japan started to make India defend a lot more. Bichu Devi made a relatively straightforward kick-save from a Japanese penalty corner, and every time they broke forward India’s defenders were up to the task. Udita and Nikki Pradhan were marshalling the defensive circle well, and Vaishnavi Vitthal Phalke put in a few crucial tackles too. With Jyoti and Ishika Chaudhary often providing the width on either flank, India had the outlets to play release passes.
But the missed chances in the second half would be Harendra’s biggest concern when he reviews this match. India played well out of defence, with captain Salima Tete making a brilliant run down the middle to combine with Lalremsiami, who broke through a few tackles and unleashed the shot on goal. India started celebrating, but the umpire had spotted that Siami took the shot from just outside the circle, which stood after India’s video review. The midfielder had to just wait a fraction of a second more to allow the ball to run in front of her. Soon after, another goal was ruled out as Neha’s strike from a PC wasn’t low enough to sound the board, instead ruffling the net – which is not allowed other than from conventional drag flicks.
In the fourth quarter too, India missed a golden chance to extend their lead, with Sunelita Toppo’s first shot on goal from the right saved by Akio Tanaka before Navneet Kaur’s reverse hit from the left was scrambled away to safety. At that instance, Japan withdrew their goalkeeper to try and snatch a miracle win late on. Their captain, Amiru Shimada, produced an inspirational run down the left, dribbling into the circle. Bichu committed herself down the baseline but left the goal open for Kobayakawa to sweep home into an empty net.
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As the final hooter went, the Indian players didn’t celebrate. They might have known deep down that they had done enough to make it to the final, but would these mixed bag of performances be enough to take down China on Sunday?
India 1 (Beauty Dung Dung 7’) vs Japan 1 (Shiho Kobayakawa 58’)
