Japan defeats India 4-3 to qualify for final of Girls U-18 Asia Cup Hockey Tournament
Japanese girls have qualified for the final as they defeated their Indian counterparts 4-3 in the second semi-final of the Girls U-18 Asia Cup Hockey tournament which is being played in Bangkok, Thailand. The Japanese junior athletes will now face the challenge
of China who battered South Korea by 3-2 with the help of golden goal in the first semi-final of the event.
The match was played in a real entertaining environment where both the teams showed their guts but at the end it was Japan who held their nerves till the end and snatched the well-deserving victory after a hardworking seventy minutes of play. Although the
Indian girls took the early lead, the Japanese athletes made a strong comeback in the first part of the match. They made a double blow to the Indians while the second half remained level for both teams with two goals each.
The first half started with early action by the Indian girls as they opened their account just two minutes into the first half as Navjot Kaur found the Japanese net in the second minute. However, the Japanese girls backed in the game midway through the first
half when Minami Shimuzu equalised the score in the 19th minute followed by a beautiful goal by Satokei just four minutes before the interval when she put Japan ahead of their opponents in the 31st minute. The first half ended at 2-1
to Japan.
In the second half, the Japanese looked more aggressive and they waited only 13 minutes to find the Indian net again, as Aimi Ozeki scored the third goal in the 48th minute. However, the Japanese lead was reduced again to a single strike when
Anupa Barla scored the second Indian goal in the 52nd minute. Japanese girls continued their attacks with the similar pace and once again ticked the score board in the 61st minute as Yukina Maeda made it 4-2. The Indian girls replied
in the last minute when Jaspreet Kaur scored the final goal of the match in the 70th minute. The match concluded at 4-3 to Japan.
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